False Interpretations
by Queen Lucetta
Summary: Medieval Fantasy AU. After years of tension, two countries decide to form an alliance. Prince Akihiko is set to marry "Princess" Misaki as a sign of the unity, but only because their parents misinterpreted the words of an oracle. Yaoi.
1. Prologue

A/N: Happy Birthday Rebs! Okay, I know it's a little early, but since the size of this is going to be massive (compared to my usual schlock anyway,) I upped it on a Monday! We really need to take a break from fantasy RPGs, but I know we're not going to haha. Anyway, I'm going to keep uploading chapters every Friday after this until its done, and the official start of this right after I'm done posting this. I hope you like it! To anyone else, it's kind of based on concept we came up with while playing lots of video games and reading lots of yaoi while hopped up on coffee many late nights in a row. If something doesn't make sense or this isn't your cup of tea, feel free to let me know. The prologue is optional, it more or less just explains the framing for the story (I hope.). Anyway, hopefully enjoy everyone, and on with the show!

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The country of Farrion, ruled by the Usami family, capital of the continent in the heart of a mountain range. Its defenses were near impenetrable, its wealth unparalleled by any other. The laws had remained unchanged for centuries, as a testament of unyielding influence. The citizens lived their lives in prosperity and safety knowing that no country would dare raise arms against them. Theirs was truly a haven among the surrounding unrest. Its presence kept the other, smaller countries in check. There was only one which dared stir conflict with such a country.

The country of Taida, a small country near the sea, ruled by the Takahashi family, guarded on three sides by crashing waves. They held a sizable amount of power, not nearly enough to safely challenge Farrion of course, but enough to hold power on the continent. Despite tension between the two, both countries and their citizens enjoyed a decent, peaceful life.

The unrest between these two countries was undeniable. It was uncertain as to what caused such tension, it dated back for decades at least. Residual effects of such unrest were seen in both the ruling families and citizens of both countries. They knew they were supposed to hate the others, but they weren't sure why. The reason for the feud had been long forgotten, but that didn't stop the royalty from inventing new reasons to keep the tension alive.

For years these countries were locked in a state of mutually assured destruction. Without Taida, Farrion's trade routes would dry up, and without Farrion, Taida's wealth would dwindle. It was uncertain what would become of the continent if the two countries finally went to war. Speculation was Farrion would crush Taida, and then possibly annex their trade routes. However, it was clear that Taida's alliances would step in if needed, and that would certainly slow down the Farrian advances. Still, the tension was tangible, it left many in a state of worry for what could happen.

The strained relationship was costly, to the citizens and the countries, yet they seemed content with the political climate. At least, it seemed as though the royals were content with such a political climate. In truth, the citizens were less than pleased with it.

Then came the day when Taida's ruling class conceded that keeping the tensions afresh was only a hindrance to their progress. After long hours of debating among the ruling class, they decided the best course of action would be to straighten out their relationship with Farrion. After many months of exchanging letters, Taida's royals were invited to Farrion to finalize the terms of their new alliance.

Taida brought along the king, queen, young prince, and a small train. It was only recently discovered that the queen was pregnant with their second child, though it hadn't been made public yet. They hadn't planned on telling anyone until after the negotiations with Farrian concluded.

Once they arrived, they were received at the borders by the Farrian army. The small numbers of Taidans wouldn't dare try to attack in this situation, not that they were planning such a thing anyway. They were led into the grand hall, where the royals were waiting. Their son Takahiro met up with Farrion's son Akihiko, and the two were taken out of the grand hall while the negotiations were taking place. They were watched by guards on both sides while the adults spoke.

Their negotiations ended up going smoothly. At the end, the Taidans mentioned that they would be willing to offer one of theirs as a wife to Akihiko, the only son of the Farrian royals and crown prince. In the end they disclosed that the Taidan queen was pregnant, and the Farrians agreed that if their child was female, they would marry the two as a sign of their unity.

To discover the sex of the unborn child, they sought out an oracle. All over the world, there existed oracles that could see the unseen and predict the future. What they saw depended on the ritual they performed after blindfolding themselves. Oracles that were born blind were said to have the strongest second sights, but finding one was rare. Finding out something as simple as the sex of an unborn child wasn't something that required a substantial amount of power, however.

Naturally there would be an oracle that worked under the direct command of the royals, and she was more than happy to aid in the unification of their countries. They watched as the oracle blindfolded herself and drank a concoction brought to her by her assistant. After that, she asked for a hair from the queen, which she quickly received. She fell silent, then eventually sighed lightly. "I see, yes, the newborn Taidan will be the perfect match for Farrion's Akihiko upon adulthood." Her voice was decisive. The manner in which she spoke was typical for an oracle.

"Can you be sure?" The Farrian king asked, slightly skeptical. It was hard for him to take oracles on their word since they usually spoke so vaguely.

"There can be no mistake, the second born Taidan will be Akihiko's idea partner. The Taidan will bring Akihiko much delight in their marriage, should you choose to marry them."

"If you decide, we will marry our daughter to your son, when she's of age." The Taidan king said. He didn't seem nearly as skeptical, and decided to trust what the oracle said.

"As a symbol of our unity, I believe this shall be the best course of action."

So they formed the pact of their new alliance. The marriage would take place after the second child reached eighteen. They stayed in Farrion for a few more days before heading back to Taida. In that time, it seemed like Takahiro and Akihiko had become close friends, a good sign for their new alliance. They were pleased to know that their quality of life would improve because of what transpired here.

However, things do not always go as planned.


	2. First Impressions

Strings pulled tight as the finishing touches were given to Misaki's princess ensemble. An off white dress draped over a tightly wound corset clung to him, looking foreign yet elegant upon his body. In his hair were two soft pink ribbons, hanging on either side of his face. He had grown out his hair marginally for the occasion, but it was well kempt and orderly. A barely noticeable bit of makeup had been applied to give his face an alluring, feminine look. His chest had been padded, though not amply, with simple cloth. His slight frame held the look well, and it was near impossible to tell that he was actually incognito. While he didn't raise any objections, he certainly wasn't thrilled about going through with this. Even if he was thrilled, the corset cutting off his air supply would kill any enthusiasm in an instant. He exhaled and eyed himself in the polished metal used as a mirror. His own reflection made him raise an eyebrow. He wasn't sure if this scared him or infuriated him, so he settled on the dull apathy he had willed himself into in order to deal with this whole arrangement.

"How's that milord?" One of the maids asked, obviously pleased with her work. With the combined efforts of the wait staff, Prince Misaki made for a cuter girl than any of them.

"It's as good as it's going to get." He replied with a sigh. "Let's get this first meeting over with already."

They were all currently staying in an inn, with a part of the army and wait staff present. Most of them were volunteers or mandated to be there, so it was a pretty diverse group. Naturally they were all in on the plan, and there to more or less make sure that they weren't found out. It was unlikely that there would be any conflict, but Misaki couldn't go alone though, so there they were, essentially becoming babysitters. The capital was not far off, so they'd reach it soon. The electricity among the group was tangible, so there was no reason to dawdle. "Shall we meet with our companions in the front milord?"

"We shall. I can't say I'm too thrilled about the whole thing, but it's not permanent." He'd been telling himself that since this whole ordeal started. Tension and the prospect of pretending to be someone's wife certainly weren't inspiring confidence.

His troop readied a carriage and they continued on. Their journey was almost over but the true test was just beginning. A surge of excitement and nervousness flooded over the group as the castle came into view. Misaki appeared to be the most disinterested, despite all of the worry he felt.

A small band of guards were there to welcome Misaki and his troop at the gates. Suspicious glares were exchanged as the princess stepped out. The guards offered Misaki a gesture of respect, and he returned the gesture as he was taught. After that they all entered the castle together, while Usagi's troop led the way to their grand hall.

Meanwhile, Prince Usagi wasn't particularly thrilled about today's meeting, so once he had received word from his wait staff that his bride to be had finally arrived, he sighed and made his way to the grand hall. He hadn't been there at the gates to greet his new wife and he could barely muster up the energy to meet her in the grand hall. As of now he didn't know much about his wife to be, just tidbits he picked up here and there. Mainly he shut out most information about the princess because he'd been far more enamoured with that stunning Takahiro. Unfortunately, he knew that could never happen, so perhaps marrying his little sister would be the best possible option. He came upon the foreign princess and her train shortly after, carefully sizing up what he was up against.

She was cute, no doubt, for a girl anyway. Nice feminine hips and an adorable pouty face. She wouldn't look half bad without all of the frills and ribbons, as far as Usagi was concerned. He sighed, as this could have been much worse. Perhaps this was the best scenario that could be hoped for, so he steeled himself to fulfil his obligations as a prince. He bowed courteously and took Misaki by the hand, giving it a gentle and brief kiss. "Welcome, princess." He said, his expression flat and his tone uninterested. "I am Prince Usami Akihiko. It is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance. Should I show you around your new home?"

Misaki was taken aback by his completely emotionless expression and delivery. He thought his future husband would have some kind of emotion; delight, nervousness, anger, something. This guy looked like he was tasked with a menial chore, not someone meeting their wife for the first time. Despite that, he remembered his 'princess training' and remained composed. "That would be lovely." He replied in a voice that so closely resembled a female that it fooled everyone.

An eyebrow was raised, but other than that, Usagi held the same uninterested gaze. "Very well, shall we?"

"Certainly." The younger said cordially. The two then started their journey with the company of many, many guards as if the two of them could somehow destroy the entire castle or something. Two of the guards from Usagi's house took the lead and provided all of the information to the foreigners.

All the while, Usagi said nothing. He could barely even afford a passing glance at his new wife. The odd silence was annoying, to say the least. Misaki wondered why his husband to be was acting so distant, as the older's expression was flat and unreadable. After a particularly long moment of silence, the princess spoke, "so uh, have you been informed about the customs of my land?" It was a feeble attempt to cut through the silence and at least get some kind of mutual understanding underway. Now would be the perfect time to discuss the differences in their cultures, perhaps even gain an appreciation for how the other's country is run, or at least just engage on some level rather than walk in complete silence. The princess waited for a response of any kind.

He remained an unflappable pillar of stoicism.

"Usami?"

His expression remained unchanged.

"Did you hear me?" The princess said with a scowl.

It appeared as if he didn't even acknowledge Misaki's existence. Even the guards were starting to feel awkward at this point.

The infuriated princess was at his snapping point, how could his 'husband-to-be' be such a selfish jerk?! "Stop ignoring me!" He demanded, thrusting his arms down by his sides to drive the point home. Sheesh! He only wanted to make small talk, considering they were supposed to get married. If this was any indication, than this mission would either be way easier, or way harder than he originally thought.

"I'm sorry, were saying something?" The older prince said with a deadpan expression that showed off just how much he didn't care.

A growl escaped the smaller prince. Perhaps he should change up his strategy and ignore his undutiful future husband right back. So he put on his poutiest expression and said nothing. Instead he held the sides of his dress like he was taught and kept the pace. Usagi didn't seem put off in the slightest by the continued silence. The guiding guards coughed nervously and continued their tour.

Upon reaching Usami's room, the guards coughed nervously as they planned out how they'd go about explaining the situation. Usami's room was rather large, with a smaller room off of it, usually for the tactician. Because his wife was here now, the tactician had moved to the barracks with the rest of the troops until the prince was officially married. Misaki was expected to stay in the smaller room during his time here. "This is where you'll be staying Milady." One of the guards pointed out the door that led to the smaller room. "It's probably a little smaller than what you're used to, but you'll move up to the big room soon enough."

"Oh no, the room is fine." The princess said cordially and daintily. "Thank you all for preparing it for me."

The Farrian guards couldn't help but be taken in by the adorable princess's charms. "Just let us know if we can help you with anything."

"Never be afraid to ask us anything."

"We're here to serve."

Usagi couldn't help but roll his eyes at their obvious grovelling, and Misaki kept his expression neutral. "Thank you." The smaller said again, wondering why his husband couldn't be this obliging. At that, the guards bowed out and left them alone.

Misaki regarded his husband to be once more. The older prince held a look of complete indifference. "I'm leaving now." He said finally. "If you leave this room, don't cause trouble." The princess would be left in the room, alone, feeling completely infuriated. It was almost a relief to know that he wouldn't actually have to marry this man, he was just too insufferable. This was for the good of his country though, so he'd deal with it. Maybe.

"And where are you heading off to, if I may ask?" As of now Misaki really didn't want to be cooped up in a room, he'd had enough of that. Then again, he didn't want to spend more time with his sham of a husband either.

"Mm." He said with a shrug. He didn't explain further and then just left.

The princess was left there, completely speechless. Never had he endured so much disrespect in his royal life.

So he sat on his bed with a scowl and tried to sort out his situation. At least he was left to his own thoughts, he could fume and fuss without the critical eye of his fake husband judging him. Casually he rummaged through the room he'd be staying in, observing the various knick knacks strewn about. It almost seemed like the room belonged to a woman, but Misaki figured this feminine stuff was brought in specifically for him. That was nice of whoever did that, he thought. Aside from snooping through the room, there really wasn't much to do. The last thing he wanted to do was wander around the castle getting gawked at by the locals.

The time passed slowly, Misaki eventually laid himself out on the bed, staring vacantly at the ceiling. He sighed, his eyes half-lidded and unfocussed. Outside, the sun had set, so he could at least look forward to falling asleep. Nearly anything would be better than lying around doing nothing.

A knock on the door stirred him out of his musings, and he got up to answer it. One of the members of his train was there, with what seemed to be a letter of sorts. "Milord, a messenger has brought us word from Lord Takahiro."

"From Nii-chan?" His face lit up. The thought of having some contact with his homeland made his tension melt away. So with haste he opened the letter and read it over. His smile got even broader at reading its contents. "Nii-chan's going to visit us in a week's time." He informed, glowing with delight. The details were fairly straight forward, Takahiro was to visit and check on the relationship's progression. By then Misaki had planned to at least get a solid conversation going with his husband, but that was still to be determined. "Is this circulating?"

"I was told to only inform you and your husband Milord." The messenger said, bowing his head.

The princess scoffed. "Well I suppose if he already knows, it'll spare me the effort of having to tell him." At that he dismissed the messenger.

Now that he knew his brother was coming in for a visit, he had speculated about how he would be received by Akihiko. Mostly, he assumed that this animosity was because of his nationality, and he assumed his brother would get similar treatment. He sighed, and hoped his brother would at least garner more respect. With nothing more to do, he fell asleep before long.


	3. Affectionate Decorum

A/N: I know I said I'd upload on Friday, but I figure I can made an exception since it's actually your birthday today! I got a copy of Yuri on Ice on DVD, when you're done work, we'll marathon the whole thing! Have a good one~!

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The days passed and nothing seemed to change. Misaki tried his hardest to strike up a conversation, but was always instantly shot down by his disinterested husband. He even started calling his future husband by a cute nickname, which garnered no reaction whatsoever. Despite his best efforts, he'd have nothing to report to his brother. Nothing except failure and stagnation unfortunately.

Finally the day of Takahiro's arrival came. Princess Misaki woke early, beset by nightmares and worry. His mind constantly cycled back to a future where he was the wife of Lord Usagi, permanently. It caused the princess to shudder, and thus he didn't sleep very soundly. Either way, now that he was awake, he moved to his door and summoned his train to attend him. At the very least he was pleased to have his own room, where he could properly prepare without drawing suspicion. His maids were particularly skilled at getting him dressed and making him into a convincing princess. After today though, he opted to dress himself. Having to go through the same rituals every single morning was getting tiring, and either way he wasn't going to be dressing up as thoroughly as he was today. From now it was going to be casual dress, and casual dress only.

Exiting the room, Misaki, now amply disguised, at least had his brother's meeting to look forward to. Takahiro was scheduled to meet with them and discuss the terms of the marriage further. While that sounded like a boring slog through the world of politics, it would be good to see his brother again. Maybe his persuasive brother could convince his selfish husband to stop being so rude.

He ran into his husband as they made their way to the grand hall. Usagi was unusually focussed and as usual paid no mind to Misaki. Though, the sharpness of his eyes said he was exceptionally eager, the princess couldn't understand why. Their trip to the grand hall proceeded in silence.

While they waited in grand hall, they said nothing and refused to make eye contact. Usagi watched the entrance with a childlike expectancy. Misaki could only spare a few passing glances at his rude husband, who was so unusually focussed. The fixed angle in his eyes made Misaki want to question what he was thinking, but he decided to stay silent to avoid being ignored. Maybe he was just holding back his disdain for the Taidan king? Misaki could take the rudeness directed at him, but he certainly wasn't going to hold back if his brother was disrespected in the same way.

When the doors to the grand hall opened, Usagi was on his feet and striding right toward the door. Misaki watched in disbelief as his future husband pounced his brother and wrapped himself around him, a warm and welcoming smile on his face. "It's been a while, Lord Takahiro." He said in a sugary sweet tone, nuzzling in as one might do to a lover.

"Ahaha, good to see you again too, Akihiko." Takahiro said with a warm smile. "Have you met with Misaki yet?"

Usagi pouted and glanced back to his future wife. "She's a lovely woman." He said in a somewhat dismissive tone, while tightening his grip. "How've you been? If you need any help, I'll be happy to lend whatever I have…"

"It's fine, it's fine." His tone suggested that he was a little tired, but that was to be expected. "So far I have selected my council and even gotten married. I couldn't have asked for better circumstances…"

"That's great news." Usagi agreed, though hesitantly. "Anyway, come, I've prepared us a feast." At that he let go of Takahiro and gestured for him to follow. Takahiro complied, offering a warm and yet somehow apologetic smile to his brother.

"How've you been, Misaki?"

"Oh, um, good." He lied. In the presence of his brother, he didn't want to feel like a failure.

"Have you been getting along well with Akihiko?" He asked casually as they followed Usagi to the banquet hall.

"As good as could be hoped, I guess."

"Well, that's good to hear. He hasn't been overly affectionate with you, has he?" Takahiro was mostly worried about Akihiko taking things too far and violating Misaki's comfort zone, or discovering something he shouldn't. He was only basing those suspicions on his own experience with Akihiko, and assumed he was always this affectionate with everyone he liked.

"No." Misaki said, suddenly slightly dejected. After witnessing that display of affection, he wondered what exactly he did to offend Usagi so much. He didn't even want an over dramatic display of affection, but some basic decency would be nice.

"Hmm, well, I guess he's just in the process of getting to know you. I'm sure once he warms up to you, you'll get along better."

All he could do was nod in response.

The idle chatter came to a halt when the doors to banquet hall opened and Usagi latched himself to Takahiro once more. The king just laughed, and they entered together.

Misaki watched speechlessly as his future husband chatted up his brother. Never before had he seen Usagi so animated and talkative, he didn't know what to make of it. That constant smile, and the fact that he was hanging on every word his brother said made him wonder if it was for show, or genuine. Though, while this was going on, Misaki remained completely silent with a neutral expression on his face.

After lunch, the day progressed slowly, for Misaki anyway. Usagi hung on Takahiro all day and as usual paid no attention to his future wife. Takahiro didn't even seem to notice. When it came time turn into for the night, Usagi suggested that the king sleep in his room, but he declined and opted to sleep in the room with Misaki. While Usagi was visibly disappointed, he respected the decision. Misaki was pleased, if for no other reason than he got to spend some time with his brother.

In the morning, the three met up just outside Usagi's room. Despite everything, Takahiro had to take off and get back to his homeland. He was in a decent mood, thinking that his brother was doing well in his mission.

"Anyway, I suppose I'll have to head out soon. We won't make it back home, but we can make it over the borders anyway."

"Good luck." Misaki replied despondently. It was only yesterday that Takahiro arrived, and now he had to take off again so soon.

The two princes waved goodbye as the king exited through the gates. There was an instant drop in morale as Takahiro exited.

After all that, Usagi sighed and turned his attention to his wife, who in turn stared him down. "I'm only doing this for Takahiro, you know." He said with a sigh.

"So am I." Misaki said lamely. He couldn't believe that being treated like a person would be considered progress by any stretch. Yet, here he was, grateful that he was at least being acknowledged. "And for the good of the kingdom…"

Usagi just rolled his eyes. "Just so we're clear, we're going to keep sleeping in separate rooms."

"Sounds good to me."

"Don't expect me to show you any sort of special treatment when we're alone. It's all for show."

"Good." He said in a snappy tone.

"Hmm, now that that's all cleared up, I suppose I can show more about our culture."

Misaki perked up, though he tried to hide his delight. "Oh, really?"

"If you're going to be a Farrian, you're going to have to know how to act in certain situations." He said with a shrug.

"Yes, I can agree to that." He said, slightly more energetically than before. "Are you going to start right away?"

"Of course." He replied with flat affect. "Let's go."

After that, the stoic prince took him outside of the castle, and into a nearby city. Only a small train accompanied them, but it was enough for what they were doing. Usagi introduced his future wife to the citizens. Some responded with warmth, while others appeared to hold animosity toward the princess of their former enemy. Along the way they stopped at the local market so Misaki could observe how they conducted business. The whole time he showed nothing but the at most attention to everything going on around him. Perhaps it was just the excitement of being out of the castle, but the princess was glowing with excitement and hanging on every word someone uttered to him.

The day passed and the two made their way back to the castle. Misaki was tired, but he learned a lot about the culture he'd be part of for the next while, and it was interesting and not too different from his own. Even if he'd likely not venture out of the castle again, he was still grateful for the experience.

"You look like you had a good time." The older prince observed.

"Well yeah, getting to see the country was really refreshing."

"Hmm, well good then."

Misaki paused. _'Oh my goodness, he's talking to me! He actually initiated the conversation! Unbelievable!'_ The princess cleared his throat. "Especially the food, that stuff is good."

"You liked it, huh?"

"Yeah." He said with a nod. This wasn't exactly deep conversation, but it was a step in the right direction, maybe. "I wouldn't even mind coming out here again, to experience more of your culture."

"You can do that on your own time then."

Misaki instantly felt the frustration bubbling up inside of him again. It showed easily on his face as he bit his lip to keep from going on a long winded tirade.

Usagi sighed then, and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry." He hesitated. "If I find the time I'll take you out again."

Misaki raised an eyebrow. What brought about this change? Before he could contemplate this strange change of heart, he felt a hand on his head, gently ruffling his hair. "Uh." He honestly was left speechless and confused.

After that they returned to the castle, and Misaki quickly entered his room. The first thing he wanted to do was get out of his constricting clothes. With a sigh he began the tedious task of undressing, meticulously removing every string and ribbon and making sure they were kept in good condition. Everything was so fragile that he feared he'd tear them apart if hauled them off carelessly.

The top of his dress became loose and he slowly slipped out of it. The small cloths he used as chest padding were usually the first to go, and just as he was removing them, the door to his room flew open. The sudden intrusion made him shriek in his deeper, natural voice. He immediately hauled his dress up to cover himself as a woman might do and stared his husband down with equal parts anger and terror.

The odd shriek caused Usagi to raise an eyebrow. Though, he didn't think about it too hard. "I'm just wondering if you're interested in joining me in the mess hall."

Misaki raised an eyebrow, and abruptly cleared his throat. He strongly resisted the urge to yell at his husband to get out and responded like a demure and cool tempered lady. "That sounds, lovely." He said plainly, resuming his fake feminine voice.

"Hmm." The older prince responded. "Meet me there when you're ready, if you know how to get there."

The smaller visibly pouted. "I know where it is, and I'll meet you there when I'm ready."

"Very good." He said, then abruptly left.

Misaki was left in the silence of his room, with only the pounding of his heart permeating the silence. That was too close, a few seconds later and Misaki could have been discovered. The thought of that rattled him to the core. At least he'd know to be more careful in the future. So after a long sigh, and partially redressing, he headed out to meet his husband.


	4. Read it and Weep

It was an average day. Misaki had wandered around the castle and greeted any of the wait staff he happened to meet. He'd made excellent progress in befriending the guards and the wait staff, but still no real progress in being cordial with his husband. By now he was willing to just accept it and gave up trying to find some common ground. Not to mention that by a hair scrape with death he got into recently. After all this time, they only managed to get to being civil with each other, perhaps that was good enough.

Either way, he entered his room, only to be stopped in his tracks when he noticed someone in there. It was a woman, though not a maid from his train, and not dressed like a maid from Usagi's house. Her uniform suggested that she was part of the military, though it was different from the standard military uniform. Was it routine for women to be a part of the military here? He froze, not sure what to do.

The intruder looked up, her eyes sizing up Misaki critically. In a swift motion she was eye to eye with him, and a smile formed on her face. "You must be Princess Misaki!" She said finally, looking proud of herself. "Oh my, you're simply adorable! The cutest!"

"Huh?" At least she wasn't attacking him, but that still didn't explain why she was in his room.

"Oh, you're probably wondering what I'm doing here. I'm Eri Aikawa, the tactician."

"Whaa, you?!"

"Hahaha! Don't look so surprised!" She said in a confident tone. "I got this position because I'm the best at what I do. Besides, who else has the gall to keep our lazy slacker king on task?"

Misaki was dumbfounded. Her demeanor and upbeat voice was not something he'd ever expect from a tactician. "I see." He said, unsure of how he should talk to her. Either way, he was curious as to why she was in this room at this time. "By the way, weren't you staying in the barracks with the new recruits?" He asked honestly. It wasn't like he wanted her to leave, but he'd have to be wary about what he did in this room if there was a possibility of her showing up unannounced.

"Oh! That's right, I was just looking for something." She held up a leather bound book in front of her. "This here is one of my favorites. The hero's struggle in this one is just so epic and tragic, I get sucked into it every time I read it." Talking about it was only getting her wound up even more, she looked like she was ready to start gushing. All the while she kept another book in her bag hidden from sight. "Have you read any of our Lord's epic poems? I suppose he already showed you his best works."

This was news to Misaki, up until now he had no idea his husband was into writing. "Actually, I hadn't heard anything about his writing from him."

"Really?" She said. "Huh, I don't know if I should be sharing this with you. Perhaps you should ask him about his writing yourself?"

"Perhaps." His voice became slightly bitter then, as he figured his husband would just dismiss him the second he brought it up.

She just smiled either way. "Well, nice meeting you Milady. I'll be taking my leave now, and don't worry, I'll let you know if I'm coming in again, okay?" With a hand wave, she took her leave.

Misaki was left in the silence of his room. Knowing that his husband was a writer had made him unusually intrigued. So, since he was alone, he started snooping around the room once more. The first place he scouted was the area in which he found the tactician, it appeared to be empty. Upon further inspection though, he noticed that the board at the back of the cupboard could be removed, and so he pushed it aside. Behind it was in fact a stack of books. His eyes widened with curiosity.

He reached for a book, no particular one, and pulled it out. Immediately he opened it to the first page and started reading.

At first the princess was taken in by the beautiful verse on the page. The masterful word weaving and impeccable use of literary techniques was something out of legends. But after Misaki was sensitized to the quality of writing, he was drawn in by the struggle of the main hero. Though, the more he read, the more he noticed how the main hero was eerily similar to Usagi. Aside from the dragon-slaying and talks with the Gods, the main character could easily be Usagi with all of his mannerisms.

What really got Misaki interested was the romance depicted in parts throughout the poem. The main hero was always longing for the love of a foreign royal (of unspecified sex) and yet that love was never returned. The foreign royal was either completely oblivious to the hero's feelings, or dutifully seeking a partner in their native homeland. Considering the hero (of unspecified name) was essentially Usagi, the princess could only wonder if this was an accurate representation of his real life struggles with love.

Honestly he wasn't sure if he should be reading this, it just sounded way too personal. The tales of heartbreak were so vivid in describing the protagonist's feelings that Misaki inferred that it had to come from personal experience. It made more sense to him now, why his husband was so cold to him. His heart must belong to another. Surely the foreign royal mentioned in those words couldn't be him, not when he was already so close and yet always pushed away. Suddenly all he could feel was sympathy, even if he didn't know what it was like to be in love.

On impulse, he got up and made his way out of the room. He had to see his husband, and maybe even apologise. He wasn't sure why, but it felt appropriate for some reason. First he'd have to question whether or not the poem was based on his own personal feelings, or just so convincingly written that it was impossible to tell. The book was in his hands, just in case he needed to reference it.

He found his husband looming around the training grounds, not really doing anything in particular. Misaki approached, almost shyly, and cleared his throat. His husband glanced in his direction, though his expression didn't change.

Now that he was here, he was determined to understand his husband's emotional state better. "Um, so, I found out that you're talented with the literary arts…"

"Did Aikawa tell you that?" He said bluntly and without hesitation.

Misaki swallowed, that was dead on. Judging by how much she was gushing over his work earlier, it wasn't too much of a stretch to assume she let everyone know about her obsession. "I uh, I read some of your work." He thought he'd lead with that statement, to see how his future husband would react.

"Is that so." He said with his usual flat tone. "What did you think?"

"Uh, it's really wonderful." The princess mumbled, feeling only slightly more confident now. "But, I have to ask, the main character of your epic poem, is he based on you?"

"You're very perceptive." He said with a nod.

 _'You mean I was right? Wow!'_ Misaki thought, feeling proud of himself. "I have to ask again, the character's actions, they're based off what you would do in those situations, right?"

"That is correct."

"Then, the unrequited romance…"

The older prince hesitated. "That is also an accurate depiction of my feelings."

Hearing that stated so bluntly hit Misaki hard. He was suddenly flooded with despondent feelings, but proceeded anyway. "The foreign royal, is she a real person too?"

"Naturally." He said, though not bothering to correct the assumption.

"And you've met this person, you haven't just admired her from afar?"

"We've met several times."

Misaki paused, feeling more and more emotional with every answer. "And what you're saying is, no matter what, you can never be with her?"

The older prince sighed. "Well, the person I wrote about is married now, so-"

"Married?!" Misaki brought a hand to his mouth, as his eyes became misty. His shoulders shook and he bit his lip.

Usagi raised an eyebrow, perplexed by his wife's actions.

"I'm sorry for being so selfish, to think that you felt this way the whole time." He couldn't stop himself from crying. Even if he was a little bitter about the rudeness he endured, he couldn't help but sympathize. A few sobs escaped him and he turned away.

"It's fine, there's nothing I can do about it now."

"But, but!"

"Look, I appreciate you feeling like this on my behalf, but I always knew it would end up like this. I always knew we could never be together." His tone was the defeated drone of a man who had come to terms with unavoidable failure years ago. It only made the situation more depressing, Misaki moved closer, unsure of what to do. "You don't need to cry for me."

"Well, that's too bad!" He barked back, "Once I start crying, I can't stop, you'll just have to wait it out…"

By now Usagi was completely at a loss as to how to deal with this situation. Watching his wife crying on his behalf left him with an odd feeling that he couldn't quite place. He raised an eyebrow, and as if he were trying to come up with a plan to stop his wife's crying, pulled him into a hug. The expression on his face said he was confused, and he wasn't sure if he was trying to stop the crying for his benefit or Misaki's.

Slowly but surely, Misaki's sobs stopped. Once he was amply comforted, he pulled away from his husband and looked at his face. Usagi was still slightly confused, but seemed pleased that Misaki stopped crying. "You stopped." He observed.

"Yeah, I'm sorry." After that he appeared to get a sort of determination, but just a hint. "I may not be a good substitute, but I'll try my hardest to make you happy…"

Usagi raised an eyebrow at that too, and a sly grin appeared on his face. At that he ruffled his wife's hair playfully. "We'll see about that." After what just happened, he did have a new appreciation for his wife. She wasn't so bad, maybe. He didn't know how long this feeling would last, but at least for the time being, he could at least appreciate her tenacity. "But wait, where did you find that book?"

"Oh uh, was it supposed to be private?" Misaki kind of figured this would happen, but he'd pretend like it didn't cross his mind. "Ah ahaha, it was in my room, in the cupboard." He conveniently left out the secret wall. That would definitely seem like he was snooping, even if it was in his own room.

"Were there any others in that cupboard?"

"Well, there were a few." The princess was getting more and more uneasy.

"I see, would you like me to show you my latest work?"

That wasn't the response he expected, but he was delighted about it nonetheless. "Yes! That sounds great!" It was the progress and understanding he was hoping for. His heart was absolutely glowing, more than he expected.

They proceeded together into Usagi's study. It was separate from his bedroom, and littered with paper and ink pots. Usagi guided Misaki to his desk, where his latest epic poem was in the works. It dealt with the main hero's continued journey, with the acknowledgement of the lover from previous installments having gotten married. Misaki, though feeling sad knowing that the hero was a self insert of Usagi, read intently, absorbing the saga written beautifully.

At no point did Usagi mention the mystery person in his story was Takahiro.


	5. Twice Cut

Early morning sunlight filtered in through the window, waking Misaki. He stretched out and rubbed his eyes in response. After such a restful sleep, the princess was feeling absolutely fantastic and ready to take on the day. Apparently bonding over literature was just what he needed to lift his spirits. He'd even consider being more dainty and feminine than usual, just because he was in such a good mood. Yes, he was in such a good mood that he'd actually put in an effort to appease his uncaring husband. So he threw himself out of bed and examined himself in the mirror, impressed by how the dawn's light accentuated his best features. It made getting dressed up much more tolerable.

Once he was amply dressed up, he left his room in search of his husband. His search didn't last long though, as he located a maid and asked her if she'd seen Usagi. She told him that his husband was out at the training grounds with Kamijou. The princess thanked her and headed out. The training grounds weren't far off so it didn't take long to get there.

Usagi was already engaged in a sparring match by the time the princess arrived. Misaki paused once he caught sight of their duel, watching with wonder at his husband's form. His movements were so swift and precise. At no point did he ever clearly telegraph his moves, and his expression was focussed and unreadable. Misaki could tell that he wasn't going all out, and even at that Kamijou could barely keep up. It was a beautiful display of power and discipline that left the princess speechless. Their sparring match continued for nearly a minute until Usagi disarmed Kamijou and held his sword to his neck as a sign of victory. "Not bad." The prince said as he sheathed his sword. "You're a little predictable, but your techniques are solid. I can see how they could be helpful in battle."

"Thank you, Lord Akihiko." Hiro said between breaths. "You're probably the most formidable opponent I've ever sparred with."

"Thanks." The prince replied blandly.

Just then they both noticed the princess. "Ah, were you watching us just now Milady?" Hiro said, feeling slightly embarrassed and wondering if his teaching credibility had been compromised.

"Huh? Oh!" He was snapped out of his thoughts by the sudden acknowledgement. "Yes, I was. You both were amazing." He approached then, and noticed that Hiro's shirt was stained. Seeing his former teacher stained with his own blood was alarming to say the least. "Kamijou-sensei, you're bleeding!"

Hiro responded stoically and casually. "I guess I am, how annoying." He finished his statement with a sigh.

"I guess I cut it too close. Sorry about that, go get that patched up." The prince said, gesturing to a not so far off medic tent.

"Of course." He said obediently. With that, he took his leave.

Misaki shook his head and turned his attention to his husband, who was now wiping off his sword. The princess was so riled up and inspired that he couldn't contain his excitement. "I want to spar with you too." At no point did he think of his request as unladylike, nor would he care if someone pointed out that sparring was a man's endeavor. Since they were alone, it probably wouldn't matter anyway. Usagi already didn't have any interest in him, so the princess couldn't possibly make their relationship worse.

Usagi raised an eyebrow in response. "You want to spar? Have you any experience in combat?" His tone was highly dismissive.

"I was trained by Kamijou-sensei with the rest of our troops." Misaki pouted slightly. "And I've hardly gotten any exercise since I got here! As my future husband, it is your duty to satisfy my physical needs!" He snickered, knowing that what he said had obvious lewd connotations, but he didn't care. Remaining immobile for so long was driving him crazy and he'd do anything to get out some of his energy.

Usagi raised his eyebrow further. The eager look in his wife's eye coupled with the out of place comment made the prince want to humour his wife, if for no other reason than to brush her off afterward. "Very well Milady. What is your weapon of choice?" For the briefest of moment, Usagi's voice wavered from its normal stoic flatness. Misaki couldn't tell what emotion was in that voice, all he could tell was that he heard an inflection of something. A good sign perhaps?

"I'm best with a short sword."

"Suit yourself."

The princess approached a nearby weapon rack, sizing up the blades. Seconds later he selected a light blade and approached his disinterested husband. "Are you ready?" He asked while readying a stance. His small stature and tiny build coupled with his feminine dress made it impossible for him to look intimidating. His dress and corset made it hard to move effectively, but he was finally in a position to exercise, so he'd work with it.

Usagi just shrugged, obviously not taking this venture seriously.

Misaki pouted slightly at the thought of not being taken seriously, but it was to be expected. Well, the princess wasn't going to put up with that! So in a swift motion he lunged right at his husband, and while Usagi did attempt to guard himself at the last second, he was too late and unprepared to properly parry the attack. In that brief moment, Misaki was able to knock his husband back, and in another swift motion, disarm him.

Misaki was absolutely glowing with pride, and Usagi was floored and deeply impressed. A few seconds passed, and the older prince spoke from curiosity. "Is it routine for women to be trained in your country?"

"Not all women." The princess said with a smirk, as he already had a story ready to explain this. "But my brother made sure I could defend myself. Being the princess makes me a valuable target, so if I can defend myself, then that will help out the army help me. Not bad, right?"

The older prince fell silent for a moment and wore an expression of contemplation. He picked his weapon off of the ground and stared down his wife. "Show me the extent of your training, little princess." He said, intrigued.

"Alright! Don't hold back!"

The two ended up sparring for a solid hour. It quickly became clear that Misaki wasn't really a match for Usagi, not when they were both trying their best anyway. The older prince was still impressed with how well his wife could handle a weapon. They took a seat after sparring to catch their breaths. It was an oddly tranquil moment for them both. Misaki laid out with a broad smile on his face, not caring in the least if his dress got dirty.

"That certainly was- interesting." The older prince said suddenly.

"It was." The princess agreed. "Sorry I couldn't keep up."

"Don't worry about it. You did pretty good."

"Thanks." Misaki said, sitting up. This seemed to be a decent bonding experience, he thought. Perhaps the usually masculine task of sparring could be their common ground? It was better than nothing for sure, and if this became their thing, at least Misaki could look forward to some much needed exercise. If it became commonplace, maybe he could start wearing a training uniform instead of an over-adorned dress and a corset. One could dream…

The princess was snapped out of his musings when he felt a tug at his hair. His husband had seized a ribbon and was slowly pulling it out. Misaki watched speechlessly as the accessory was pulled from his hair. He blushed, but he wasn't sure why. "Uh…"

"You look better without these." Usagi said simply.

Misaki turned away, his cheeks blazing. While he couldn't say for sure if this was a good sign or not, he could say for certain the innocuous comment was having a profound effect on him. So he sat motionless in silence as his husband undid the other ribbon. After a few long seconds, Misaki exhaled heavily, almost unaware of the breath he was holding. He turned to face his husband and their eyes locked. Usagi's usual stoic expression new held a hint of intrigue, and he said simply, "you're not bad looking for a girl."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" He replied with his usual exaggerated indignation. His good mood had been dashed yet again because of the infuriating older prince and his nonsensical passive aggressive jabs.

"It's a compliment." He said with a shrug. "You should feel honoured."

"Tch!" Misaki was too flustered to respond properly, so he reacted the only way he knew how. He'd continue pouting until he got distracted by something else.

"Well, since were already out here, why don't you try our training regime? After seeing what you can do in battle, I think you'll be able to keep up." Usagi stated flatly. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't at least a little intrigued by his future wife. Perhaps he could deal with being around such an interesting woman.

"Really?" The princess seemed to perk up instantly. "You'll do that for me?" He felt very much like a captive animal that had finally broken free. Sure it wasn't exactly a giant leap in his freedom, but he was finally able to leave the confines of his feminine role, if only for a while.

"I think you've proven yourself capable. If it's too much, you can always opt out of it later."

"I'm in!" The princess declared.

"Alright, let's go. We can get you into uniform if you want." Usagi actually wondered what his spunky and suddenly masculine wife would look like dressed as a soldier. For some reason he thought it would be an improvement, and was actually curious. A good sign perhaps?

Of course Misaki wasn't changing, even if he really wanted to. "I'd prefer to be dressed like a proper lady." He said firmly.

Usagi sighed, but didn't question it. As far as he was concerned, this was a standard womanly response. While it was disappointing, he knew it was to be expected. "Suit yourself." He said with a shrug.

After that he showed his wife, still in full dress, to the new recruits. Being the prince, it wasn't hard for him to join in, but everyone was surprised and shocked that he insisted on letting his future wife join them. They were even more shocked to see Misaki keeping pace with almost everything they threw at him. He'd probably be on par if he wasn't wearing a lung-crushing corset.

Their training session lasted until dusk. The entirety of the new recruits and the royal couple all retired to the mess hall for a hearty meal and playful banter. Misaki was an active participant the while time, having so much fun being one of the guys that he forgot most of his feminine manners. This didn't go unnoticed by Usagi, but he never once pointed it out. No, instead he opted to observe his wife's mannerisms. He was intrigued and wondered just how deep these mannerisms were ingrained in his wife. Either way, the army recruits ate and chatted long after sun down, until everyone opted to turn in for the night. Misaki bid farewell to his new friends and followed his husband back to their room.

Night air poured into the room, the warm breeze calming them after such a long day of training. Misaki stretched out on the bed in an attempt to ease his sore muscles. It felt good actually, the burning strain in his whole body. Perhaps he'd overdone it, but he didn't care, it was worth it. Despite being absolutely wrecked, his body was grateful for the exercise after such a long period of inactivity. A lofty smile appeared on his face. He hadn't felt this good in a long time.

"Aren't you going to get undressed?"

"Wuh?" He looked over to his husband, who was now partially undressed. Misaki blushed and wasn't sure if he should be offended or not. "Of course not!" Even if he wanted to strip off his restrictive clothing, it would be impossible. He'd just pretend to be modest to keep his clothes on.

Usagi just rolled his eyes at such a false show of modesty. "It's not like I want to ogle you. I just think you'd feel better I you got yourself out of those clothes." He wasn't going to push the issue as he didn't care either way.

"Too bad. I'm not showing off for you until we're married!"

"Suit yourself." The older prince said with a shrug, continuing to strip off until he was in his smallclothes. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see his formidable wife's pouty face. The princess stood with such a cute scowl, arms folded as if to guard her feminine modesty. For some reason, Usagi mischievous spirit was ignited once more. So in a moment that he would never be able to explain, he strode over to his wife and seized one of her arms. Misaki jolted at the sudden contact and stared with a confused expression into Usagi's eyes. The older prince stared down the younger with an expression of sharpness and critique. Without warning, he leaned in and seized his wife's lips in a spur of the moment kiss. While this was a pretty common thing for couple to do, it seemed completely out of blue and somehow wrong to Misaki. He couldn't react because he was too rapt with surprised to form a coherent thought.

Luckily, the kiss didn't last long. Usagi pulled back and analyzed his wife's reaction. Misaki's face burned and a scowl gradually formed. He covered his mouth with his hand and turned away. He wasn't sure if he was angry, or embarrassed, or both, or neither, but he did know his mind wasn't sound to properly address the innocent gesture of affection. "Why you!" was the only response he could formulate.

Usagi had an expression of neutrality. The experience hadn't been as bad as he expected. "You're not bad, you know?" He said plainly. "Well good night." And with that, he crawled into bed.

Misaki was left speechless, his heart fluttering uncontrollably. For the briefest of moment he contemplated coming clean, explaining the whole situation and apologising for failing to be the wife Usagi deserved. Of course he couldn't do that, but he wanted to for a fleeting second. Though, he quickly banished those thoughts. He couldn't let his feelings jeopardize the mission. Why was he even having second thoughts about this?! He was beyond frustrated and to a lesser extent, confused.

To put the conflicted thoughts out of his head, he entered his smaller room and finally stripped off all of his feminine clothes. He crawled into bed and pulled the covers up over his eyes. After all he'd been through that day, sleep came easy.


	6. Interlude

A/N: I've decided to start posting on Monday too, or else this thing will never get done haha. Anyway, interludes like this won't interfere with the main story, I don't even know if there will be any other interludes but I thought I should at least establish that Nowaki is in this, he'll make an appearance later on.

* * *

Hiroki Kamijou walked absently toward the medic's centre, his mind clouded with gloom. No, it wasn't because he lost the sparring match, he couldn't care less about that. He was more or less dejected about his unrequited love and how no matter what he tried, his feelings would never be returned. While it was fulfilling to be around the object of his affection, it was also indescribably painful. He wouldn't even have minded so much if he wasn't forced to face Akihiko every day. Each meeting was just another painful reminder of what he couldn't have. Worse was he had to watch his lord attempt a fake marriage, and even though he knew nothing was going on between them, he couldn't help but feel the jealousy well up whenever he seen Misaki together with his love. The whole situation just left him feeling dejected and unmotivated. He hid it well behind his usual dismissive and nonchalant scowl.

The medic's centre wasn't far off, and he entered and there himself down in the waiting area. Seconds later a medic in training entered, with a warm smile on his face and a calming demeanor about him. "Good morning." He said warmly, "What seems to be your trouble?"

Hiro scoffed and looked away. "Just a scratch from sparring." His voice held some bitterness, and a hint of fatigue.

The medic kept his smile and got to work. His touch was so gentle that it almost made Hiro forget about his unrequited love, almost. "Thanks." He mumbled, not sure what the proper decorum was for this sort of situation.

"It's not a problem. You'll be as good as new in no time." He spoke so clearly and with such tenderness. "But I'd say you should stay away from sparring until it fully heals."

Kamijou said nothing. The medic looked like he just remembered something then. "Oh! I'll get you some balm, it'll heal faster if you keep it cleaned, and the pain will ease too." With a warm, chipper smile, he took off, most likely to the medicine storeroom. Kamijou sighed, looking like a total wreck both physically and emotionally. His feelings of rejection were really starting to well up inside during the silence. Actually, he wondered if he should just get up and leave. There was no reason to wait around after all, his cut wasn't that severe. Yet, his glum mood and growing apathy gave him no reason to move either. So he just sat there, unfocussed and uncaring. A few minutes later, the medic returned with a clear vial of liquid. "There you are." His eyes were as jovial as ever, but Kamijou couldn't return the gesture. He silently took the balm and walked away without another word.

The hours passed in a haze, blending together in a blur. Kamijou found himself sitting at the outskirts of town, wallowing in defeat. It wasn't too far from the training grounds, if he listened hard enough he might still be able to hear the object of his affection spar with Lord. With nothing of importance to occupy his time, he found himself thinking constantly about the love he'd never know. His bleak thoughts made him get misty eyed. With no one around, there'd be no reason for him to hold back his emotions.

Just before he could burst into a full blown crying fit, a crudely made arrow landed at his feet and snapped him back to reality. He was startled out of his musing, but his mind was still a chaotic mess. Was this arrow aimed at him? Was this the work of a nationalist? Or maybe the misfire of a common thug?

Strangely enough, the medic from before appeared. He jumped back once he noticed someone was there, but he paused and started intently at Kamijou. The military trainer then realised his tears were visible and he tried to hide his eyes. It was too late though, the medic had already noticed.

"You…"

"Um." Kamijou refused to look at the now bewildered medic. He made a move to run, but his arm was seized. For the briefest of moment their eyes locked, and Kamijou looked away in an attempt to preserve his dignity. It didn't work, and he found himself dragged out of the woods.

"Hey!" He pouted in vain. The medic was surprisingly strong, but not so strong that he could keep Kamijou down if he really wanted to escape.

"I'm sorry, it looks like my skills were insufficient."

"Huh?" Just then it registered in his mind what the medic was thinking. He'd just happened to find a former patient crying in the woods, misinterpreting those tears as a result of physical pain. Kamijou didn't know if that assumption made him seem more or less pathetic than the actual reason he was crying. It didn't matter though, his turmoil was none of the medic's business. He could think whatever he wanted. While he didn't need any more treatment, the military trainer kept pace with the medic as he was dragged back to the center.

There were a few men hanging around, though it looked like they were fine, or patched up already. They eyed Kamijou with intrigue, but no signs of hostility. The men were dressed in the standard issue of ex-military retirees. He was familiar with the military traditions of Farrion, the way they were looking him made him think they recognised his uniform as Taidan military. His suspicions were quickly confirmed, "you're the Taidan military trainer right? I saw you sparring with our prince earlier."

"Yeah." He said, putting on a neutral expression as he was helplessly dragged into the conversation.

"Did you get injured by the princess?" He was referring to Misaki, who was indeed proficient in combat. "That little cutie's got quite the arm on her."

Kamijou hesitated, but answered, "No, this injury came from the prince."

"Wow, really? He must favour you an awful lot to take you as a partner."

(I only wish he favoured me more.) He thought.

"Either that or he really values your technique."

(If only he did.)

There was a pause. "Did you train the princess?" One of them asked.

"Err, well, yes." He said somewhat modestly, not sure if he was being complimented or not.

"You did an amazing job."

"She's quite formidable, I was impressed."

Kamijou felt only a slight ego boost at such flattery. It didn't raise his mood at all, but it was still nice to hear his efforts praised. "I'm glad she was able to exceed your expectation."

The medic returned then, and started re-evaluating Kamijou's injury. There wasn't a lot more he could do though, so he ended up adding a numbing agent and re-bandaging it. Having already been dragged into a conversation, they all ended up chatting for a while. The whole thing wasn't entirely unpleasant.

"Anyway Wacchan, we'll see you again I'm sure." One of the former warriors said as they got ready to leave.

"Take care of yourselves." The medic said as they left. He turned his attention to Kamijou then, his expression slightly more serious this time. "You're a military trainer for the Taidan army?" He seemed genuinely impressed, but Kamijou just nodded. "I want you to train me."

"What?" That comment caught him off guard. Though, the tone seemed sincere, and he wasn't sure if he was being mocked by this medic or not. "Aren't you a medic?"

"Yeah." He said with a lamenting sigh, "but medics need a certain level of battlefield proficiency." He stated, getting down on one knee. "My name is Nowaki Kusama, please, take me as your pupil!"

It wasn't like he had anything better to do in Farrion. For a brief moment he considered it. Nearly anything would be a welcomed distraction from his pity party. Then again, here was a foreign medic asking him for combat advice out of nowhere, it seemed a little suspicious. "I doubt you could even keep up with Taidan training. You'd crumble before the first set ended."

"Please, I'm willing to push myself to the limits."

"Why though? Why don't you just learn from your own army?"

"I want you to train me. Please."

This was so weird, but Kamijou was only marginally against the idea. "If I see you falter even once…"

"Yes! I promise not to falter, I'll rise to whatever standard you set!"

Kamijou sighed. He hadn't exactly gotten along with the locals, but then again he didn't tend to get along with anyone. This medic's enthusiasm was something he wasn't used to seeing, especially directed at him. "Fine. Find me after you're done working for the day. I'll assess your fitness level…"

The medic's face lit up with childlike delight. "Thank you! I won't disappoint, I swear it!"

"Yeah yeah, get back to work." Hiro said dismissively.

After that the medic offered a warm smile and waved goodbye. Hiro ran a hand through his hair and wondered if he made the right decision. While he wasn't exactly thrilled about training a foreigner in the arts of his homeland, he couldn't deny that his enthusiasm was endearing, if only a little.


	7. Meeting Deadlines

The older prince seemed to have a change in demeanor after Misaki's display of emotion and skill on the training grounds. Not only was the usually selfish and dismissive Usagi more attentive, but he also seemed to make more physical contact. A favorite motion of his was to pat the top of Misaki's head, slightly ruffling his hair in the process. For some reason, whenever this happened, Misaki would feel his pulse accelerate. His lack of hair ribbons made it all the more easy to ruffle his hair, and so he was grateful that Usagi preferred him not to wear them. This sudden pulse increase and fluttering in his chest was something that was inexplicable to him, at times he would wonder if he was under some kind of spell. Naturally, the fluttering pulse and ensuing confusion just made him lash out in over-exaggerated indignation, even if he knew what he was feeling wasn't anger. Progressively he was starting to enjoy the time they spent together, whether or not he was willing to admit it. It was getting to the point where, if Usagi bid him farewell without touching his head, he'd grow confused or agitated, or both. The princess wasn't sure how he felt about that. Maybe he'd just become a creature of habit and changes in his routine was the cause of his agitation.

Not only was he starting to enjoy the company of his husband more and more, but his dress code was becoming more and more lax. Usagi made it clear that he wasn't particularly fond of feminine attire, which was just fine as far as Misaki was concerned. If he wasn't so afraid of getting caught, he'd gladly wear his old grab from his homeland. Even a military uniform would be preferable to a constricting dress, but he did have his image to maintain. Unfortunately, the corset had to stay, or else he wouldn't be able to maintain his hourglass figure. He had gotten used to it, for the most part anyway.

He had been occupying his time reading his husband's writing, otherwise staying cooped up in a room during his down time would drive him crazy. Acting feminine in the public eye also drove him crazy, so he tried to avoid that as much as possible. The training grounds provided a decent place to go whenever he needed some exercise, but dressed as he was, he couldn't keep up with the others most of the time. Despite everything, he found himself feeling content in his current situation.

A knock on his door made him get up and stretch. He expected it to be someone from his train checking up on him, as was the usual.

Misaki was shocked to see his sham of a husband at the door. "Uh."

"We're going." He said bluntly and plainly.

"Uh…" He was too dumbfounded to react. His arm was grabbed and he was abruptly dragged out of his room and down the hall. "Wait, what's going on here?" He said finally.

"I want to show you something." He said ominously. Misaki raised an eyebrow but allowed himself to be dragged along. They stopped in front of a door that Misaki hadn't entered yet. Usagi knocked, and then was called in by the maid.

They entered a partially decorated room with various trinkets strewn about. A group of flustered maids were scurrying around and the space was alive with the buzz of activity. What caught Misaki's eye almost instantly was a gaudy, frilly, overly adorned dress in a red and white colour scheme. Being that it was about his size, he figured it was for him. The maids all stopped what they were doing and focussed their attention on the two. "Milord!" One of them squawked. "I'm so sorry, we're running a little behind. The dress is ready but the rest of the suits are still in progress, and the decorations…" Her voice was frantic as she tried to justify their lack of activity. "Have you set the official date for the wedding yet? Oh, if it's later rather than sooner, please fill me in!"

"It's fine, calm down." He said with a hand wave. "I just wanted to teach the princess about Farrian wedding policies."

"Oh, well, by all means Milord." She said with a relieved sigh. She then rejoined her fellow maids as they scrambled to complete everything needed for the ceremony.

Usagi sighed and began his explanation. "There is a custom here that says I can't ascend the throne until I'm married." His tone was flat, it was unclear why he would lead with a statement like that.

"So, you're technically not the king then?" Misaki said, raising an eyebrow.

"No." He said flatly. "Most of the political choices made now are done by my father's council. I actually have little say in the happenings of my country until I'm officially crowned."

"Oh." Misaki said, feeling uneasy. Why was he bringing all of this up?

"We should take steps to set a date. There's a few pre-wedding meetings we'll have to set up too."

"Oh, I see." This was strange, Usagi almost seemed, okay with it now. Or maybe he was just accepting his fate? Either way, Misaki was glad that his fake husband was no longer resisting. As far as he was concerned, the sooner he got this whole charade over with, the better. "So uh, I guess we'll have to formally declare the date to your council, then finalize it over the course of three more meetings?"

"That is correct." He was only marginally impressed that his wife was knowledgeable about his customs. It would spare him the effort to explain anyway. "I guess it's not so bad, if it's you..."

Misaki felt his face heat up upon hearing those words. Honestly he didn't know why that statement flattered him so much. "Uhm, thank you Milord, I hope I can be a good wife to you."

Usagi's face dropped at the word, 'wife,' but continued on by changing the subject. "This will be the dress you'll wear, my suit is over there, but as the maids have already stated, it isn't finished yet."

The princess's line of vision fixed on the unfinished suit. It looked fine the way it was, Misaki thought, and wondered what was left to do. "Are you preparing me for the wedding?" It seemed a little preemptive, the date for the wedding wasn't even set yet.

"Something like that." He responded, dodging the question. "I just wanted to know if you had any problems with the proceedings."

Considering the fact that he had studied the wedding customs of Usagi's house, it was an appropriate question. He was also pleased that Usagi thought he was educated enough to know the wedding rituals of this land. "I have no problems, from what I've seen, it's going to be lovely." He bit his lip then, remembering one very important thing. "We'll be wed outside, by the bubbling pond at the foot of the volcano, right?"

"That's usually where they're held, yes."

Misaki sighed in relief. "Oh, good. Erm, I mean, that's the most beautiful place in your country, so I see it as the only fitting place for us to be wed."

"Anyway, now that you're here, would you mind trying on the dress Milady?" One of the maids said, all with glee.

"Oh yes, I cannot wait to see how beautiful you'll look in it."

"Huh?!" Suddenly Misaki's face went pale. As much as he wanted to appease the diligent maids, there was absolutely zero chance that he could show off his body to them.

"We do need to see if we fitted it properly, Milady." The lead maid said matter-of-factly.

"Oh, uh, yeah, about that…" He was panicking, his mind searched for a dodge. "I need to call my wait staff to help me fit into it!" He said quickly and decisively. The suspicious manner in which he said that made Usagi raise an eyebrow, but the maids didn't seem to notice.

"Certainly Milady, I'll send someone to get them for you." The lead maid said with delight. One of the lesser maids exited the room. She then turned her attention to Usagi. "Milord, I must ask you to leave! You can't see the bride in her dress before the wedding!"

Usagi just rolled his eyes and left the room. These girly shenanigans did little to hold his interest and he had no intention of sticking around for long. He had already accomplished what he wanted, so he had some time to kill. While he waited for this to end, he headed down to his private study, wondering if he should call upon Aikawa for advice on his latest steamy story, among other things.

Not long after, the maid returned with five ladies in Misaki's train. They appeared to be a little nervous too.

"Alright! Let's see you Milady."

One of Misaki's ladies spoke up, "we'll have to go behind the curtains, our Lady um, is really sensitive about her body…"

"YES!" Misaki said, beaming at his maid's quick thinking. "I'll only be a second, um, wait for us okay?" His maids hustled him behind some half made curtains, they would suffice as a changing room for now. The maids in Usagi's train were all well stacked, no doubt, so if that was a viable excuse Misaki would take it.

He came out shortly after in the horrible, gaudy thing. His maids and Usagi's maids all agreed that she looked stunning in it.

After much gushing, Misaki slipped back into his usual attire. With his husband now gone off somewhere and nothing else of importance to tackle, he just headed back to his room. With most of the staff preoccupied with wedding preparations, he could relax without fear of being bothered.

-Meanwhile-

"You wanted to see me Milord?" Aikawa said casually as she took a seat in Usagi's study.

"Yeah, something's been bothering me. I think I'm starting to like the princess." She already knew about his preferences, and who the mysterious foreign royal was in his narratives. This is why she was equally confused.

"Woah, really? She must be really something."

"I guess." He said with a sigh, running a hand through his hair. "So what do you think I should do?"

"Isn't it obvious? You go right up to her and tell her exactly how you feel, even get into how you were pining after his brother. It'll be great, she'll be so flattered!"

"Uh-huh." He wasn't even sure if he had his feelings sorted out, but he did know for sure that the princess's presence was having an effect on him. It wasn't something that he could dismiss or ignore anymore.

She suddenly had a demonic aura around her, and her demeanor changed into something far more dangerous. "Well, what are you waiting for, you idiot! Go to her! Go there now! Stop dawdling! Don't have me to kick your ass!" Her body language suggested that she'd attack at any second if he didn't get up and move. "And when you're done, I want to hear all about it! Don't keep me waiting!"

He sighed again and got up. Aikawa got to work shoving her prince out of the door. He started walking and she watched him like a hawk.

"I want to know exactly what happens! Write it all down if it makes for a steamy story!"

"Yeah yeah, I'm going." He didn't know how long Misaki would take trying on the wedding dress, so he very slowly made his way back to his room after he was out of Aikawa's sight.


	8. Discovery

A/N: WARNING! There is a lemon ahead. The whole chapter is basically a lemon, you've been warned! Beware! Anyway, if you're into that, read on!

* * *

Trying on his wedding dress had been an ordeal, but he was grateful that his maids were able to help him in and then out of the dress safely. The Farrian maids gushed the whole time over how beautiful and elegant Misaki looked, and getting away from them was harder than expected. They certainly took their job seriously, which was commendable at least. Despite not doing much other than trying on a dress, he was now completely drained of energy and retired to his room. The halls were still, so he figured he could take a breather from his restrictive garments. His wedding dress was even more constrictive than his usual attire and his tolerance for tight frills had run dry.

Misaki began disrobing, glad to finally be on his own for a change. He undid the strings and ribbons holding his dress in place and let it fall carelessly to his feet. Next to go was that horrible torso prison most people called a corset. He fumbled with the constraints and wiggled around until that lung crushing garment fell to the floor. The young prince breathed a euphoric sigh of relief as his small frame was released and the chilly night air hit his newly exposed skin. Mere days ago he would have never believed taking off clothes could feel so good. Casually he took a seat on the bed and allowed himself a moment of relaxation. His slender form was actually quite intoxicating in the faint moonlight filtering down upon bare chest. He stayed like that for a few glorious minutes before hearing footsteps in the hallway, realizing the dangerous position he was in. So with a lamenting sigh of frustration, he got up and made his way back to the discarded garments. He was pretty certain no one would come barging into his chambers, but there were a few maids that had trouble respecting privacy.

His attempt to redress was ceased in an instant when the door flew open. Misaki was paralysed with fear. It was the worst possible situation he could find himself in. The intruder wasn't one of the maids, it was the one person who absolutely couldn't have seen him undressed. Misaki panicked and didn't know what to do. The other prince wore an unreadable expression, so the brunette didn't know what to expect.

"Misaki." Usagi said in a bewildered voice. "You're a-"

"Err." He covered his chest like a woman might do, though it wasn't convincing anyone. There wasn't anything he could do or say. He was caught, he was trapped.

"You're a man." The older stated bluntly.

"I er- well, that is-" He stammered and tripped over his words. His fake feminine voice was dropped for his normal speaking voice since he figured he was caught anyway. All at once he could picture the ruination of his kingdom, all because he got caught…

His thoughts were cut off instantly when he felt an arm on his back roughly pulling him toward the larger prince. Before he could react, another hand was on his chin, tilting his face up. His lips were seized in a rough, desperate kiss, one much more passionate than their previous kisses. "Mmm?!" The smaller prince was too confused to properly react. He had expected to be chastised, or beaten, or publicly executed, or all three of those options, but kissed? Their lips parted and Usagi scooped up the smaller and hurried over to the bed. Misaki found himself face up with his legs splayed open, still too confused and rife with shock to move. Usagi moved in, his face dangerously close to Misaki's crotch. He hesitated for the briefest of moments before leaning in and nuzzling Misaki's meat over his smallclothes. His lips ran over the small but very real shaft and he shuddered in lusty delight.

The smaller prince jolted up. "Wait! What are you doing?!" He squirmed. His face flushed and his pulse pounded in his ears. Nothing about this situation made any sense! With everything happening so fast, Misaki couldn't get a grip on the situation and his body was already betraying him. With every single lick and nuzzle to his clothed cock, he could feel more of his blood rushing down. He bit his lip and tried to think straight, but his mind was clouded with confusion and arousal. How was this even possible? It ran against everything he understood about sex and romance.

Usagi looked up then, meeting Misaki's eyes with a sly look. He ran a finger down the smaller man's chest until he reached his smallclothes. Without warning he began sliding them off, exposing the now partially hardened cock. He made a soft purring sound and licked his lips. He placed his lips on the tip of Misaki's cock, causing him to squirm and cry out in surprise. He didn't know what this feeling was, the new sensations he felt were confusing him. "Wait!" He squawked. "Please?!"

"Hmm?" Usagi said lamely. He'd give the smaller a few seconds to complain, but he had no intention of stopping.

"I am, I mean, we're both men!" He choked out, as if it would make a difference.

"I am aware of that."

"But, we, I mean, we can't, we're both MEN!" His voice broke a few times as he tried to articulate his point which should have been self-explanatory. It was hard to speak his mind when his body was betraying him and giving him mixed signals.

Usagi just rolled his eyes and playfully kissed Misaki's shaft. The uke sighed and squirmed as he felt those lips gently teasing him. Usagi stuck his tongue out and gave a long, savouring lick all along the shaft, licking his lips after as if he had just finished a delicious meal. He moved his face lower and licked at the base of Misaki's cock, gradually dragging his tongue lower to lick those salty balls flavoured with sweat from being under layers of dress all day. "Mmm," the older purred, drenched in lust at the sight of his 'wife.' "You're positively stunning Misaki, I want you so badly."

"Huh?" The younger moaned in confusion. That couldn't possibly mean what he thought…

"I'm going to ravish your body all night." His voice was velvety smooth and absolutely dripping with animalistic lust.

"Wuh-" His brain finally seemed to clue in to what was happening. He felt a hand on his hip, and then found himself flipped onto his belly. "But, we can't-" Misaki squeaked feebly as he felt two hands on his ass.

"Why not?" Usagi said lamely as he positioned his face close to that ass.

"Why not?! We're both me-Nnng!" He jolted up as he felt something warm and wet prodding him. His body shuddered and he gripped the sheets. Despite everything, the strange sensations he felt weren't entirely unpleasant, which only confused him further. "Uwa- haa." He bit his lip as he felt the tongue slide inside him.

As much fun as licking the innocent uke's ass was, Usagi pulled back then, earning a heavy sigh from the smaller prince. Now things would get interesting. "After you've gotten this hard, do you still think we can't have sex?"

It took a few seconds for Misaki to clear his thoughts enough to answer, but he still couldn't articulate his thoughts properly, "we can't- I mean-"

"If you say it decisively, I'll stop right here." Usagi said slyly, knowing the other wouldn't decline after he reached this level of arousal. He licked his lips with satisfaction, already knowing how this would turn out.

"Huh?" As much as Misaki's mind was urging him to run, his body was pushing him to continue. He hesitated, but his mouth moved seemingly on its own, "is it possible?" He didn't know why he said that, but now that it was out, he was a little curious to see Usagi's claim play out.

"It is."

Misaki bit his lip, shaking with nervousness. There was no way he would admit to his curiosity. "I don't believe you." It never crossed his mind to retract that statement.

Usagi just grinned, and leaned in close to kiss the confused prince's forehead. "Then I'll show you."

"Are you sure-"

"You'll like it, I can assure you." The older said while running his tongue along the uke's ear. He reached down and gently stroked his uke. Misaki arched and sighed, squirming at every touch dramatically. Two fingers were then placed were placed on his lips then, and they were expertly parted as those fingers forced their way inside. Misaki tasted the prodding finger, unknowingly coating them with saliva. Suddenly Usagi released Misaki's cock so that he could force his hips up. The uke now positioned in such a way that he was supported by his hands and knees. His fully hardened cock was grabbed again and the stimulation caused him to bite down hard. He could taste Usagi's blood in his mouth but Usagi didn't seem to care one bit. Saliva trickled down the side of his mouth as strained moans escaped his throat.

Suddenly the fingers were plucked from his mouth, leaving his tongue hanging carelessly on his lips. The sound of Usagi expertly slipping out of his pants was heard, probably. The grip on his cock loosened, and he felt something press against his entrance. He didn't protest, even as a finger roughly pressed in. "Haa."

"Does it hurt?"

"A little…"

"Hmm." He circled his finger slowly inside of Misaki, causing the smaller prince to gasp in surprise. "I'll try to be gentle." Usagi said in a totally suave and yet disgustingly sleazy voice. His fingers moved and he slowly curled and flexed into different positions inside of his uke. Misaki arched his back and cried out. "There's a good boy." Usagi purred. Slowly he slid his fingers out, only to try and force in another. It was noticeably tight.

"Guh!"

"Relax, it'll hurt less if you relax."

Hurt less? Misaki wasn't prepared for more pain. He was about to protest but Usagi gave his cock a playful squeeze. "Uwa. Haa." He couldn't make sense of the sensations in his body. He didn't know whether to run or stay and see what happened.

Usagi's fingers slid in slowly, painfully slowly. All the while he stroked Misaki with an erratic rhythm, trying to keep the uke aroused while he prepared him. He couldn't hold out much longer though, and forced his fingers inside as far as they'd go. "Gwaa!" Misaki moaned and bit his lip. "Ahh, Ohh, Nng!" Tears formed in the corners of his eyes as he dealt with pain, and something else that was welling up inside him.

"Are you okay?" Usagi asked in a hot, longing voice.

"I don't know. I- Think so."

"Hmm." As a last resort, he retrieved something from his pocket, a small vial of healing balm. "Tell me if this helps." He said, almost breathlessly. At that, he slicked his fingers with the stuff and forced them back in. It was significantly easier this time.

"It's- better." Misaki conceded. Actually, it wasn't all that bad now, he could deal with this.

Looking at the uke; his arched back, his pale skin radiant in the moonlight, made Usagi lose what little self-control he had left. He moved his fingers up and to the side, at the same time pressing the head of his cock to the entrance. He didn't give any warning as he pulled his fingers out and pushed his head inside.

"Hah-ah! Nng!" The smaller clenched his fists and ground his teeth. It hurt, but not as much as he was expecting. He grit his teeth and appeared to coil up defensively.

"Does it feel good?"

"Uhn-" The uke nodded, only to jolt up and twitch as the shaft gradually pressed inside him. The grip on his cock loosened, but there was enough pressure in that slow rhythm to distract him from the pain, but only partially.

Usagi finally pressed in as far as he could. He exhaled heavily as he gauged the uke's reaction. The smaller was extremely tense and his head was down on the pillow. His face held an expression of strain and confusion, yet he didn't seem to be resisting. Usagi leaned in and kissed the uke's ear, wresting a cute but startled moan from him. "Just relax my princess." He said in a soft, reassuring voice. "If you keep calm it'll start feeling good soon enough." At that he began slowly moving his hips. The pressure he felt in his cock made it near impossible for him to control himself. He wanted so badly to pound that ass now, but he held back because of his overwhelming desire to be it at least tolerable for his 'wife.' He didn't want this to be the last time they did this.

The smaller, though feeling the pain, was getting a little impatient. The hand on his cock wasn't fast or strong enough, so he tried moving his hips slightly. He winced at little, and wrapped his hand over Usagi's. The larger took the hint and tightened his grip while stroking roughly. Misaki seemed to loosen up then, and mewled at the suddenly pleasant feeling that came over him. "Ngh, Unh." He could deal with that, probably. It wasn't so bad if he could focus on the hand on his cock.

Usagi noticed the slight change in his wife's demeanor. He pulled his hips back and thrust in. The uke moaned and arched, and Usagi repeated the motion. "Oh gods Misaki, you're so tight."

"Oh, nng."

His pace increased, and Misaki gradually adapted to that pace. While it still hurt, it felt less and less unpleasant. His eyes clamped shut and he supressed his moaning. His eyes shot open again when he felt Usagi's cock his something inside him. "That."

"Hah, what?"

"Do- unh, that again."

"Yes." Usagi said, trying to drive himself into that spot again. As he pounded, the uke moaned his approval. "You like that?"

"Yeah." The uke breathed. "Hhg, ah!" The sensation in his ass and cock drowned out this other thoughts. Despite the rough treatment, his body was reacting to every thrust and stroke with need.

"Oh gods Misaki!"

"Hah, Hah!"

Usagi's grip on the uke's hips and cock intensified as he lost control of his pace entirely. Sweat matted his hair and his breathing became laboured and erratic. Misaki buried his face in the pillow and cried out helplessly into it. He felt a strange sensation building in his lower torso. "Hah, ah, Nng!" He didn't know what, but he felt something. Usagi sighed in response, pressing in all the way and cumming hard inside. Misaki arched up and came into his hand and onto the bed sheets.

The two remained relatively motionless as they caught their breath. Aside from their laboured breathing, the room was eerily silent and still. Usagi was first to move as he slowly pulled out. Misaki responded with a few startled mewls as the appendage left him. He was left with an odd feeling that he couldn't quite articulate. All he could do was collapse helplessly onto the bed as the larger prince laid alongside him. Seconds later he was pulled into a tight embrace and relentlessly attacked by gentle, affectionate kisses. His mind was still too hazy to make sense of what just happened.


	9. The Plan

Both princes were well on their way to falling into a deep sleep, when suddenly the gravity of the situation finally pulverized Misaki's subconsciousness. Before tonight, the thought of two men doing what they just did never even crossed his mind, and he'd never think it possible. Yet somehow, it happened. He jolted up and out of Usagi's grip with a look on his face that said an indignant rant was coming. Unfortunately, he didn't think about what he was going to say, and it came out a jumbled mess, "you! You just- how could you? What, how, we're both men!" His breath was just as erratic as it was moments ago as he tried to articulate his thoughts. It made him even more confused that his body seemed to like it, what exactly could have caused that?

Usagi lazily opened his eyes to gaze upon his now very indignant and confused wife to be. "Was my performance unsatisfactory?" He said lamely, leaving it ambiguous if he was being sarcastic or not.

The smaller bit his lip as his eyes flared with a ferocity only kept in check by his confusion. "We're both men!" He huffed and exhaled and tried to formulate an argument, but it was proving harder than expected.

"You keep saying that. It's not impossible." Usagi said lamely.

"But!"

"Listen, I'm now very interested in you, and it's because you're a man." He exhaled in exasperation. It pained him to have to be so obvious and spell everything out so bluntly, but his wife appeared so dense that he probably wouldn't catch on otherwise.

"Huh?"

"Don't you understand? I'm attracted to men, and men only. If I had known you were a man earlier I wouldn't have been so confused about my feelings."

"But- how?"

He moved in close and pulled Misaki back into a hug. "Look, I don't need to explain myself further. I like you. Actually, I like you a lot. I was about to concede that I liked you when I thought you were a woman." It made more sense in his mind now. The signs were there, it must have been the reason why he was able to form such a connection with Misaki in the first place.

Misaki was still slightly confused, but a little more relaxed now. He was actually starting to feel relieved, at least his country wasn't on the brink of ruin. "So, wait, you're totally okay with this?"

Usagi rolled his eyes, feeling like he'd been repeating himself ad nauseam. "Not only am I okay with it, I'm rather pleased." He said. Though, now that the initial shock and ensuing lust were taken care of, he really was curious as to why the enemy country had offered up a man for him to marry. It wasn't like he was disappointed, far from it, but there was no way for the foreign royals to know of his preferences. "But I have to ask, why did your family offer you to me if you're incapable of producing an heir?" That could be a problem, but only because of obligation. In all honesty, Usagi didn't care one bit who succeeded him, he was barely on board with the idea of running a country in the first place. Producing an heir was something mandated by the country, if it wasn't he'd never worry about having kids.

The smaller swallowed hard, and wondered if he should explain or not. Well, he was found out anyway, so he might as well let his husband in on it. "Well, you see, my parents got word from an oracle that I would be a perfect match for you, and uh, they just assumed I'd be a girl before I was born…" He stated, trying to interpret his husband's reaction.

"Well, she wasn't wrong." Usagi said snidely.

The princess scoffed, but continued, "Well, you can imagine what a shock it was when I was born a boy, so they made me privy to plot that's going on right now." He cleared his throat nervously. "I was going to pose as a woman like I was doing, and on our wedding day there was going to be a fake assassination…"

Usagi raised an eyebrow. "How did you plan on doing that?"

"Well, my family had trained an archer specifically for the job you see. We practiced the angles and techniques he'd use so that he could shoot me, but not kill me. We also have a poison, in small doses it gives the appearance of death for a whole day. It would look like I was killed, but we'd all know I was still alive. After that I'd be taken back to my homeland where I'd hide out in the castle for the rest of my life." Saying it out loud like that made him a little depressed. Sure it wasn't an ideal life, but it had to be done for the good of the country. "I was told that under no circumstances was I to let anyone from your house to find out, especially you, or else the plan would be ruined and we'd end up going to war…"

The older prince clicked his tongue. "Well, I found out, and I'm not about to tell on you." He pulled his princess in and tightened his grip. "Does your train know?"

"They all know, but they're all sworn to secrecy too."

"I see."

He paused briefly, "No one said anything, did they?"

"I haven't heard anything about this from your train." He said dreamily. If anyone was going to say something, he figured it would be Kamijou, who knew full well about his preferences. Either way, the surprise was pleasant and he wasn't going to complain now.

"Well anyway, now that you know, I expect you understand that we can't actually be married, so uh, yeah." His face burned thinking about what they just did. Were they technically married now that they went that far? He couldn't be sure, since he was still a little unsure about Usagi's culture. Either way, the indignation started creeping back. "But that aside, what we just did, we're not even married!" He was only trying to get wound up. In truth he was kind of tired and could potentially fall asleep at any moment.

"Hmm, well, you just said that we can't actually get married, so we might as well enjoy our time together while we can."

Misaki scoffed, but for some reason he couldn't hate the idea. "I can't believe you." He said finally, defeated. "Wait, then, the person in your stories, is-"

"A man." Usagi said plainly.

"Wha, really?!"

"Most people don't appreciate that kind of relationship, so I kept the identity of who I loved a secret. That way I could indulge my fantasies."

The princess took a deep breath, connecting the dots in his head. Now that he thought about it, the mystery person did remind him of someone. "But wait then, now that I think about it, the person in your stories…"

"It was your brother." He said flatly.

"WHAT?!"

"Honestly, are you surprised?"

"My- my brother… Why you!" He wanted to be much more indignant than he could muster right now, but he was too tired to keep it up.

Usagi just continued cuddling him as they fell asleep together.

In the morning, Misaki woke first with only a hint of soreness. He didn't even have time to wonder if what happened last night was a dream or not, as moving around even a little caused a minor shock of pain, and the tight grip Usagi had on him meant he wasn't getting up anytime soon. He sighed, but didn't exactly feel terrible. His heart was conflicted, but for some reason being like this didn't feel wrong.

He ended up staying locked in place for a long time, not wanting to wake his husband. The older prince was always so grumpy if he was disturbed from his sleep, so it seemed like a good idea to not provoke him. Eventually he felt Usagi stir, and his heart started to race. Seconds later, their eyes locked, and Misaki found himself unable to move or say anything.

"Morning, my love." Usagi said, his voice velvety smooth and saturated with adoration.

"We're both men." Misaki said lamely, though his voice was devoid of protest.

Usagi ignored that statement completely and kissed his wife's forehead, moving down and taking his lips. Misaki squirmed at first, but gradually eased into it. Their lips parted and the older cuddled into him.

"Are we just going to stay here all day? Don't you have princely duties to attend?" The princess said lamely. As comfortable and warm as he was, he didn't want to end up trapped there.

"If it were up to me, we'd be here all day." He tightened his grip and nibbled on Misaki's ear, causing the smaller to throw him off. He stood and started getting dressed.

Just then the door flew open and Aikawa came bursting in. "Wake up you asshole! Stop shirking your work! Set a wedding date already-" She stopped dead when she caught sight of Misaki, half way through the process of getting dressed. Misaki reacted the same way he did last night, covering his chest like a woman might do, but yet again he was caught.

"Um, wait, the princess is-"

"He's a man." Usagi said casually from the bed.

"Wait, um." Misaki felt his blood run cold again. How could everyone here be so casual about something like this?!

"No way! KYAAaaa!" At that she ran up and took Misaki by the hand. "That's adorable! Oh my goodness, I'll bet our prince was happy about that."

"Uh, I mean-"

She continued ranting, but eventually turned her attention back to Usagi. "Well now, I was going to force you to set a wedding date, but hmm, this is quite the scenario…"

"Misaki's got it covered." Usagi said as he got out of bed. "Misaki, why don't you explain the plan to her?"

"Wha, HUH?" This was just too weird, he'd been found out in rapid fire succession, and yet, they seemed totally okay with it. He didn't know if this was a good sign, or if they were just holding off an execution.

"Go on Misaki, with the help of my tactician, you can go over your plan and make sure it's perfect."

"Oh, you had a plan?" She gave Misaki a sly look. The excitement was welling up inside her.

Misaki cleared his throat. He couldn't dig himself any deeper, so he might as well share his plan. So he told Aikawa everything he'd told Usagi last night. She seemed pretty intrigued with the logistics, and was even more impressed that Misaki was willing to go through with such a plan. She gave her full support and swore that she wouldn't tell anyone on the council about it.

"Anyway, you still need to set a date for the wedding, so get on that!" Her expression changed to a more playful one then, "And I expect you'll have a new book for me read by the end of the month." With that, she took her leave.

"What a pain." The older prince said, running a hand through his hair. Misaki has since finished dressing but was still feeling a little rattled.

"A pain? I'm just glad she was so understanding about the whole thing." If he'd learned anything, it was that he'd have to be on his toes from now on. It was bad enough that two people already knew, the last thing he needed was for more people knowing.

"Yeah yeah, anyway, let's go. We've got a wedding to plan." Though, after last night, Usagi was in no hurry to get married, that would only end their relationship. No, he wanted this to last.


	10. Regrets

A/N: To Dorito Izzy, I'm very happy that you're liking it so far~! I already have an idea for how this will end, and I sort of have an idea of how their relationship will unfold. There will be more lemons, maybe not immediately, but they will show up eventually hahaha. I will try to incorporate some of the doubt you mentioned, it's a good idea. I'll see if I can make it happen~!

* * *

Saying the difference was like night and day would be an understatement. Over time, it only seemed logical for day to fade into night, and likewise for night to break into day. This change was more like ice suddenly bursting into flames. At first Misaki wondered if he preferred the old, standoffish, stoic Usagi to the doting, affectionate, emotional Usagi. Though, it was getting harder and harder for him to deny the security he felt sleeping in the arms of his proficient fighter of a husband. Even more worrisome was that, in some cases, the gentle touches and soft kisses were something Misaki was starting to like. That terrified him most of all. While he'd never admit that he enjoyed the attention, his resistance became nonexistent and his objections dried up. Naturally Usagi took this to mean he was all for the affection he was given, which was true.

Even in public, Usagi appeared to have no filter. No matter who was around, he'd carelessly pull Misaki in for a quick kiss or tight embrace. Most of the witnesses to such behaviour thought nothing of it, considering they were supposed to be married soon anyway, but Misaki always overreacted. He'd go on a tirade about how they shouldn't publicly display their affections, and that such things should be kept in the bedroom. Such protests always fell on deaf ears though, and Usagi would just cuddle and hold him in the plain view of everyone and declare that they belonged to each other. The princess would only growl as the maids all squealed with delight. Sometimes he thought Usagi was doing this on purpose, to show off for the audience that was always present for some reason.

Preparations for the wedding had been made, thanks to Aikawa's constant needling and Misaki's insistence. Somehow together they had motivated, or at least beat him down enough to do what was required of him. Misaki gave his deepest gratitude to her for being so persistent, and never letting up on him for even a second. She was more like a babysitter at times than a tactician. Seeing their interactions was actually astounding in its own right. Never had he pictured a king, or even a prince, being so incredibly unmotivated and lazy when it came to addressing their own tasks. Misaki could never imagine Takahiro being so lazy. Mostly, when Aikawa nagged him to take care of the wedding preparations, he'd usually reply with an excuse, or he'd dodge her questions or criticisms, or he'd whine about losing Misaki after the wedding. Unfortunately Misaki wasn't going to let Usagi shirk the wedding, and insisted that go through with it regardless. Even Misaki was starting to get tired of his husband's carefree attitude.

Word was sent to Takahiro shortly after the date was set. Everything became official after he sent his reply, and word of the union soon spread around both of their countries. Of course he'd make an appearance on the day of the wedding. For now though, he couldn't just make trips there whenever he wanted, he did have a country to run after all. A few letters were sent to Misaki directly, asking about the status of his mission. Despite his better judgement, he never let Takahiro know that his sex had been discovered, and said that his act was believed and that no one suspected anything. He did ask if he should let his husband know what the plan was, and thus would have to wait for a reply before coming clean about it.

While the wedding was well received by the general citizenry, a few objections were raised by the locals. Most of the objections came from nationalists showing their hostility toward Taidans, but of course they didn't have the power to stop the wedding from happening. Misaki did fell a little uneasy when addressing the locals sometimes, but most of them seemed in support of the union. Hearing a few disgruntled lines like, 'go back to your country' and 'you're not welcome here' were a small price to pay for unity and peace. If ever Usagi heard such things though, he'd have to hold himself back from flying into a tantrum at whoever said it. He did however, set the detractor straight with a very controlled speech about uniting the countries and the like.

Even with the thought of the wedding essentially being the end of their relationship, Usagi did express an interest in being officially bound to Misaki. Naturally he insisted on visiting Taida as often as he could in order to be with Misaki, in secret if need be. That was met with much resistance from the princess, usually until he was brought into a tight hug and assaulted with affectionate words. Since discussing anything related to romance was a losing battle, Misaki just went along with whatever ridiculous scheme Usagi came up with if it meant fulfilling their duties. Though, the closer they got, the more it pained Misaki to know that it couldn't last. It was his duty as a prince to carry out his political duty, but more and more, he wished he could discard his title and be with Usagi. Though, he knew Usagi couldn't just discard his title, so it led to a lot of deep thinking on Misaki's part about destiny and birthright and how sometimes these things were much bigger than himself. Occasionally he'd sigh at his own powerlessness and resigned himself to accept whatever fate dealt him.

With the date set, both of them were subject to many, many, many meetings and discussions with the councils. Misaki got to see the inner workings of Usagi's country, though, through a series of boring meetings and protocol. Being involved in this foreign culture wasn't so bad, it gave him a renewed appreciation for the intricacies of cultural traditions. Even with the immense time spent on meetings and protocol, he still felt glad he could experience those traditions.

-Meanwhile-

News of the wedding was quick to reach the ears of the archer tasked with shooting Misaki on the wedding day. While he did have confidence in his abilities to pull it off, he was now worried what might happen to him should a problem arise. The Taidans had practiced at length how to go about shooting Misaki and what the angles would be and how to properly administer the poison. The only thing they couldn't account for was the actions of the Farrians. After seeing the interactions of the two princes as of late, it was undeniable that their bond was strong. Security would likely be tight. If he was caught, there was no doubt in his mind that he'd be put to death, and Misaki would be powerless to spare him without giving up his identity or the plan. No matter what, he couldn't let that happen, but becoming increasingly more fearful for his life, he had to think of a way to get out of his mission.

Recently he'd been hanging around local bars, listening to the general public's banter. He was sure to dress in usual Farrian garb as to not give his nationality away, blending in and not rousing anyone's suspicion. Unsurprisingly, there still appeared to be a hint of hostility toward Taidans here. He'd drink and listen from a quiet corner, not drawing any attention to himself.

His attention was raised when he heard a particularly boisterous group of scoundrels enter the bar. The other patrons seemed leery of them, and they seemed to have their own little area that no one went near. Were these people well known around here?

Time passed and the archer watched as a few shady looking characters approached the group. He listened in, it seemed like they were commissioning the group to perform less than legal tasks for them. The archer waited around for a while, wondering if he could somehow use this information to his advantage. How though, what should he ask for?

In his mind, he thought that if he could somehow hold off the wedding, then maybe he wouldn't have to fulfil his task. With all the anxiety getting to him, he'd do anything to get out of the fake assassination. But how, how could he hold off the wedding without drawing attention to himself? He thought about it, and in his liquored up brain, he somehow settled on breaking up Misaki and Usagi. Maybe if one of them physically wasn't present, well, naturally they'd be searching. The wedding would certainly have to be put on hold if one of them physically wasn't there. Somehow, his mind cycled back to just paying off this group to kidnap and hold the princess until the wedding date passed. By then he could make himself scarce.

The bustle of the bar seemed to die down a little, and the archer, now loosened up from alcohol, made his way over to the group. His appearance wasn't indicative of their usual clients, so they eyed him with suspicion as he took a seat nearby.

"You need something?" One of them asked after a few seconds.

"Yeah, something big actually."

"Oh?" They appeared intrigued, the archer cleared his throat.

"You see, I have an interest in the Taidan princess, and I was wondering if you could capture her, for me…"

One of them raised an eyebrow. "That's a pretty big target."

"Big targets require big payments…" Another said, possibly the leader of the group.

"Money won't be a problem." The archer said. Naturally he was well off after being tasked with such an important job. He casually unlatched something from his belt and placed a bag on the table then. "Consider this an upfront payment, I'll give you double that when she's delivered."

The presumed leader took the bag and assessed the value. It didn't take long for him to visibly show his delight toward the sum. "I'm interested, do you just want us to steal her?"

"More or less. I'd like if you'd capture her, but make sure you don't hurt her too much. Especially her face, I want her to remain untouched if possible." Actually, he'd much prefer it if he didn't have to do this at all, but given his situation, he saw no other alternative. Just have Misaki out of the picture for a while without causing too much unrest between the two countries. The last thing he wanted was for Misaki to be mistreated.

"I can't guarantee she'll be unharmed, but we can get her to you alive."

The archer paused, suddenly feeling uneasy. The alcohol was clouding his mind and making it seem like his plan was a good one, and decided that he could deal with that. "Alright, I can accept your terms. Just, please, try not to hurt her too much."

"Heh, whatever guy. When do you want her?"

"Uhm, as soon as possible, but definitely before the end of the month. I absolutely must have her before the wedding."

"Sure thing. Should we meet up with you here once we completed the job?"

"Yeah, I'll be here, when I get the money…"

"Great."

After that they exchanged nods. The archer ended up leaving the bar after that. His money was gone, it was a bluff to say he had more of it, so he most likely wouldn't be there to see the capture of his own princess, he thought.

It didn't take long for the gravity of what he asked to set in. A sense of terror and regret crept into him, thinking about how he could order something so horrible to a prince who had been nothing but good to him. Though, either way, he couldn't be seen here again. He didn't have the money he promised to the group, and he'd never be able to face the princess after what he ordered, and even if he didn't get captured, he no longer had the confidence to pull off the fake assassination. He had to resign himself to his weakness of mind and body, and never be seen again.


	11. Some Acceptance

A/N: Double feature today, since both of these chapters are kind of same-y.

* * *

Day in and day out, there were preparations being made for the wedding. It was late, Misaki was drained yet again, his mind feeling flat after listening to clergymen and councilmen discuss with Usagi the details of the wedding. Just how many objectives had to be met? Not to mention that Misaki had no say in anything that happened, so he deemed it pointless for him to be there most of the time. He sighed as they returned to their room, and immediately the princess began taking off his dress. His mood was a little more sour than usual after falling under scrutiny from old Farrian traditionalists.

Usagi wasn't faring much better. He was also drained from the constant meetings and was about ready to turn in for the night. Though, tired as he was, the sight of his partially naked 'wife' gave him the energy to stay up just a little longer. Misaki crawled into bed, and Usagi was quick to follow.

Misaki growled as he felt Usagi pull him into a hug. He couldn't help but sigh when he felt warm lips on the back of his neck, and decided he wouldn't be too combative. They both could use a break, and so he wouldn't pretend he didn't like the attention this time. Instead, he let himself go limp as he was pushed down on their bed. He landed face up, and seconds later he felt teeth raking against his neck. Usagi gradually travelled lower, placing kisses all along that expanse of skin. When he reached his wife's waist, he parted his wife's legs and moved his mouth close. Misaki shuddered and moaned softly. Somehow he'd gotten used to this.

Usagi nuzzled Misaki's cock over his smallclothes as shamelessly as ever. "Haa. Ooh." His eyes fluttered shut. Blood rushed to his crotch and there was nothing he could do to hide it.

"You're so adorable Misaki, your reactions are always so innocent."

"Shut up, you pervert…" He mumbled while trying to close his legs.

"I can't help it, you're too cute." He said, seizing the hem of Misaki's smallclothes with his teeth and hauled them down. Misaki's erection bounced playfully into view. "At least your body is honest."

The princess bit his lip to hide his embarrassment, his body was a traitor as far as he was concerned. "How else am I supposed to react when you touch me like that?"

Usagi could help but chuckle at such a declaration. "If that's the case, I'm going to touch you even more in the future."

"Why you!"

The protest was ignored as Usagi took his lover's length into his mouth. His tongue slathered saliva over that shaft, sucking up any precum that appeared. The lewd moans of his wife only spurred him on.

"Wait-" The princess said meekly, grabbing at his husband's hair.

"Something wrong?"

"It's just, I'm already close… can't we just, you know…"

Usagi raised an eyebrow and licked his lips at such a sexy request. "Well, if you're really that eager." At that he got up and made his way over to Misaki, who had since closed his legs to mitigate his embarrassment.

He sat near his wife, grabbing him and hauling him onto his lap. Lips ran along his ear and he shuddered, leaning in to that contact. Usagi took the opportunity to run his hand along his wife's chest, Misaki slid his hips back without any cues. "You're unusually compliant today." Usagi said only partially sarcastically.

"Yeah well, we're both tired, and I need to get some exercise somehow…" With his back to Usagi's chest, he leaned back, as if to make his sensitive spots more accessible. His head rested lazily on his husband's shoulder and his eyes fluttered shut.

"Oh, is that what you think?" he wasn't going to argue, any excuse to get intimate was a good one as far as he was concerned. He started rolling his hips slowly. Misaki just sighed. "Well, I'll be sure to give you a good work out."

Misaki didn't react to such a claim. Instead he just pressed his hips against his husband's as a way to entice him to start already. "Mmm." He hummed.

"Are you getting impatient?" Usagi whispered, his voice hot and smooth.

"I'm tired, let's just do it already so we can go to sleep…" Misaki said, his face red with embarrassment and arousal. As much as he didn't want to admit it, his body had become quite adept at being the sheath to Usagi's sword. He was still trying to get over the fact that they were both men, but his body had already decided that two men were an okay pairing and that it liked this kind of contact.

Usagi wordlessly reached down and lightly stroked his wife gently. The uke uttered a startled noise but made no attempt to stop the motions. His hips moved of their own accord into that hand, and Misaki bit his lip to keep from moaning too loudly. "Haa, mmm."

A hand slipped down to stroke his balls. It was only a brief tease just to get his wife's attention. After a surprised yelp, he reached down with the other hand and grabbed him roughly. Misaki bit into his lip before crying out in surprise. "Ooh…"

"Misaki…"

His hips moved side to side. With his eyes glazed over with lust, he lost the will to be defiant. "More- please."

"As you wish." The older said. At that he lifted Misaki off of his hips and turned him around, so they were face to face. Now facing each other, their lips met. Misaki closed his eyes as Usagi's tongue invaded his mouth. His hips were lifted slightly then, and he held that position because he knew what was coming. Two fingers found their way to his entrance, and without warning Misaki lowered his hips to take them in. "Uhm Mmm." He purred, unable to articulate his approval with an invading tongue in his mouth. Misaki broke the kiss when those prodding fingers scissored to stretch him. "Aah!"

"You're so sexy when you're eager like this." The older prince whispered. At once he pulled his fingers out and positioned himself at the entrance. "I'm going in now."

"Yes, just do it already!"

"Very well." He said, placing a brief kiss on his forehead before forcing himself inside.

"Ung, Ahh!" The smaller arched cried as his husband's cock dug into him. "Ooh, hah!"

"Let me hear your voice."

"Hah, yes, more-" His cock rubbed against his husband's belly as he ground his hips into that sweet friction. "Unh, ahh!"

Usagi wrapped an arm around Misaki's back, his other pressed against the cock brushing his belly. Misaki ground himself into that hand, moaning uncontrollably and shamelessly. His ass was pounded underneath him by his lust drenched lover.

"Hah, Misaki-"

"Nnngh, Ah!"

They came, chest to chest. Misaki went limp then, held up only by Usagi's tight embrace. Slowly their positions shifted, Misaki was placed on his back and Usagi pulled out. The uke's eyes were glazed over, but his expression was one of satisfaction.

Usagi laid himself out and snuggled into his wife lazily, looking equally satisfied. "I love you." He whispered seductively.

Misaki just scoffed and turned away, so that his husband ended up nuzzling his back. "You're just a pervert." His tone was largely tired and defeated as he spoke, mainly because he didn't have the energy to be combative.

"Well, you make me that way." He said in a mild, slightly seductive voice. "I love you so much, I can't help but get aroused when I see you."

The princess growled. "Stop saying things like that…"

Silence hung between then for a few long moments, permeated only by their breathing. Eventually the princess wiggled out of his grasp and moved to the edge of the bed as if put some distance between them. The older prince couldn't help but sigh at such an action. "Honestly, why do you always act so distant after we make love?"

The younger growled. "It's because you're such a pervert."

"Ooooh?" He moved forward and wrapped his arms around his wife again. "I wish you'd be more honest with yourself and just admit that you like it when I touch you."

He scoffed, but couldn't keep up the veneer of contempt. "That doesn't make you any less of a pervert."

Usagi elected to just go along with such an accusation, and kissed him lazily. "At least I'm honest about my desires." Either way, he was content, and wouldn't bother his wife further. "By the way, we'll have some time to ourselves tomorrow before the meetings begin, so you don't have to get up early."

"Oh, well, that's good."

"I'll come and get you when it's time, but until then you can move about as you like."

"At least I'll have some time to myself." He joked. At that he gave into his husband's embrace and they fell asleep together.


	12. Customs

Midday sun blazed down upon Misaki in his garden. A soft smile graced his face under such tranquility. He didn't even bother looking up when he heard someone coming, but he didn't have to stretch his logical know how in order to deduce who it was.

"Misaki," his absolutely glowing husband said, in a tone bustling with jovial excitement by Usagi standards, "I got you a present."

The princess looked up. In his husbands hands was an ornate scabbard. He couldn't tell from where he was, but he could see what looked like a hilt sticking out of it. His eyes widened and his heart fluttered, and seconds later he was standing in front of his husband with his hands on the sheath. His expression was one of boundless delight. "Is this really for me?"

"Of course, my love." As Misaki took the sword, Usagi leaned in and kissed his forehead. "I already know how well you handle yourself on the battlefield. This weapon will serve you much better than it would me." At that, he ruffled the younger's hair with a loving look in his eyes.

Misaki was so enthralled by the blade that he didn't even bother scoffing at the blatant show of affection. He unsheathed the blade and ran his hand over the cold steel. Near the hilt and running up the length of the blade was an engraved note to Misaki, a single sappy line straight out of the gushing romantic love scenes found in epic poems. Naturally it was written by Usagi himself, there could be no doubt, and thus the levels of sap had been pushed to the limits. That did nothing to detract from the princess's love of the blade. He gripped the hilt and held it out as if he were readying an attack. It was the perfect length, the perfect weight. The balance was just right, Misaki was nearly moved to tears by such a thoughtful gift. "I love y- it." The princess said, only slightly biting his tongue at his near Freudian slip. "Thank you, I mean it."

"Nothing's too good for my princess." The older prince joked. "But anyway, we have a few things on the agenda for today. First off, we'll be meeting with the clergy to discuss the details of the wedding. It's a pretty long process, more than what you'd be used to in your lands." The somewhat sly grin on his face suggested that going through that process would be long and arduous for both of them. "After that we'll meet up with the new recruits and possibly practice archery with them, time permitting. Then we'll have to make an appearance to a council of allies to discuss the details of the wedding that were discussed with the clergy earlier." It was almost hard not to laugh at how absurd it sounded. The only good thing to come of this was at least they'd be spending this long, meeting filled day together.

"Archery sounds interesting at least. I've always wondered what it would be like to hunt."

"Why weren't you taught in your home country?" He only asked because Misaki was taught how to fight, it only seemed logical that he'd carry on to hunting.

Misaki just scoffed at the question. "Because I was too busy learning how to be a lady."

"I'm glad those lessons didn't work." The older prince said snidely, pulling his wife in close for a quick but passionate kiss. Misaki was in such a good mood that he didn't even struggle and instead lazily kissed back. Usagi parted from the smaller. "Well then, I'll give you some time to prepare. Meet me in the grand hall in an hour or so. Bring the sword, it'll look good in contrast to your dress." Usagi wasn't being cryptic or secretive about his intentions, he thought his princess was absolutely irresistibly sexy holding a weapon, so he'd definitely find the meeting more tolerable if he had some eye candy to distract him. He leered with his usual sleazy and predatory gaze. Misaki just rolled his eyes and strapped on the sword anyway. Even he had to admit it looked good on him, dress or no. "I'll see you then." he said, giving a brief kiss to the back of his wife's hand before waving him off and taking his leave.

With his free time now cut short, the princess hustled back to his room to make himself more presentable as a lady. He knew how harsh and judgmental those clergymen could be. The thought of having to stand before a council of crusty old men who only saw him as an outsider made him shudder. Hopefully this whole ordeal wouldn't be as bad as he thought it would, and at least there was archery to look forward to.

-Later-

Both parties were beyond mentally exhausted after having to repeat themselves over and over ad nauseam. Protocol was a treacherous slog, and Usagi resolved to amend this process the second he became king. While they both got exactly no exercise at all that day, they were both feeling more fatigued than if they had spent the entire day training. Naturally neither party wanted to do anything after the two excruciatingly long meetings but at least overseeing the archers broke up the monotony. After a very brief lunch they headed back to their room and collapsed on their bed. Usagi was so completely drained that he didn't even attempt to make a pass at his wife. Misaki wasn't sure if he was grateful for that or not.

Eventually, after a few long minutes or near lifeless lying, Usagi sidled behind his wife and wound his arms tightly around him. Misaki was partially awoken by the nuzzling he could feel at his back. It sort of made him smile too. "Are you feeling stiff all over?" The princess asked lazily, relaxing against the warmth of his husband.

"Yeah, my neck is kinked in six places at least."

"I can barely lift my arms."

"I can't even feel my legs."

"I feel like I've been kicked by a wild horse."

The smaller laughed, and the older just grinned a lofty grin. It was almost absurd to think sitting around all day could be so draining, but now that it was done they could laugh about it. If the life hadn't been sucked from their bodies they may have at least attempted to use what little daylight they had left.

"Anyway, good night my love. I'm sure tomorrow will be more eventful." The older said, only slightly sleazy this time.

"I should hope so, it can't be any worse."

"Mmm. How about you put that sword of yours to use? We could use the exercise."

Just then Misaki realised that he was still in his day clothes. He groaned and pulled himself out of his husband's arms, surprised by how easy it was this time. Usagi watched with intrigue as his wife painstakingly disrobed. While the princess could feel his husband's eyes on him, he was used to it by now. He continued stripping off after rolling his eyes at the obvious perversion, glad to be rid of his tight dress and corset.

"You look delicious." The older stated when his wife returned to their bed with much more skin showing.

Misaki scoffed, but it didn't stop him from snuggling back into his pervert husband. He placed his new sword on a table nearby with glee. It was just an arm's length from their bed, so he could grab it in an instant if the situation required it. Usagi's arms wrapped around him again and the two began drifting off.

Of course, they couldn't just fall asleep like they wanted to. A knock on the door startled them, and a very disgruntled Usagi rose out of bed and answered. All the while Misaki hid under the sheets so he could listen in without being discovered. A maid's voice could be heard as the door opened.

"Pardon my intrusion Milord, but you have a letter from King Takahiro that needs your immediate response."

"Takahiro?" He looked her up and down, noting that she was not holding a letter of any kind. "Where's the letter?"

"It's in the grand hall Milord. Some of Takahiro's train is there, they summoned me to come and get you."

Usagi groaned audibly and rubbed his temples. "Right, I'll meet you there shortly. Go there now and tell them I'm coming."

"Yes, of course Milord." She bowed then and took her leave.

The door closed and Usagi made his way back to their bed as Misaki came out from under the covers. He'd heard the whole thing. "You're going to meet with them right now?"

The older prince ran a hand through Misaki's hair. "I can't keep your brother's train waiting." At that he kissed the smaller's forehead. "Head to the tactician's room for now. I'll probably be up late dealing with this letter from your brother. I'd think it important if they insisted on waking me up." He moved in for a quick kiss then, stealing one from his bewildered wife. It was too quick for Misaki to resist, but he did put on a pouty face as they parted. "You just go to sleep without me, I'll be back soon enough."

"Yeah well, don't exert yourself too much." The princess pouted. Not long after Usagi left the room, Misaki made his way next door. All of his princess clothes were there anyway, so he'd probably get dressed at dawn like he used to. Though, he was sure to bring his sword with him to the tactician's room. Feminine or not, he wasn't going anywhere without it. Maybe sleeping away from his husband would do him some good anyway. As much as he didn't want to admit it to himself, he was really starting to like spending time with Usagi. Even worse, he was starting to like the cuddling and gentle touches and maybe even…

He immediately killed that train of thought as he slipped into his old bed. Despite being nearly dead asleep mere seconds ago, he was now alert and restless. His mind filled with speculation on what important thing his brother needed Usagi's word on. While he trusted his brother and to a lesser extent, his husband, he couldn't help but worry about the states of their kingdoms. So much was riding on their marriage, and already Misaki had slipped up more than he should have, and yet fate had spared him the ruination of both of their countries. Just how astronomically lucky could he be? The princess sighed and turned on his side, subconsciously lamenting the emptiness in his bed. He grabbed the pillow next to him and cuddled it as he tried to clear his mind. It didn't help.

-At the Grand Hall-

Usagi, though mentally drained, steeled himself for yet another dragged out meeting about the wedding. Hopefully this letter would only require a quick written response, he thought. His patience with needless protocol had worn thin. So when he entered the grand hall, he was surprised to note the near entirety of Takahiro's messenger group waiting for him. Their attention turned to him instantly and the messenger approached, getting down on a knee and presenting the letter. "Lord Usami, Milord Takahiro requires your response regarding the details of your wedding."

"Of course." Usagi said while stifling a sigh. At that he took the letter and read it over. It was fairly standard, he already knew what he's say in response. "Fetch me my quill." He said to no one in particular. "I'll have a reply before long."

"My thanks." The messenger said.

At that, one of Usagi's maids handed him a quill and inkpot, while someone in Takahiro's train presented him with parchment. Everyone stood by in heavy silence as the future king wrote. A smile threatened to form on his face a few times as he described the nature of his relationship with Misaki. His expression remained neutral, he was glowing internally. Naturally his response was concise and precise, and once he signed his name he stood and handed the finished document to the courier. While he was very forthcoming about his antics, he did conveniently leave out the fact that he knew Misaki was male, and of course he left out the part about all the sex they already had. On the off chance this letter was intercepted on its return trip, no one would suspect a thing.

"Thank you for your cooperation Lord Usami, I'll see to it that your response arrives safely."

"My thanks." The prince replied in his usual deadpan manner. "Take your leave if all things are in order."

"Yes sir!" And with that, he and the member's of Takahiro's train were off again. The grand hall seemed oddly vacant in their absence.

"Well, if I have no other business here, I'll be heading off to bed now."


	13. Missing

Misaki awoke in the tactician's room, his bed feeling unusually lonely and vacant. Despite that, he slept surprisingly well and was ready to take on the day. So he threw his smallclothes clad self out of bed and wandered over to his wardrobe. For a while he mentally debated wearing a corset or not, eventually resolving to be the best princess he could be. So he hauled those strings tight and stuffed himself into a dress. To finish the ensemble off, he was sure to strap on his fancy new sword. It was the best part of the outfit, as far as he was concerned. As per usual he frilled up in a gaudy dress, corset included with his new sword strapped to his side, and made his way outside to the training grounds in search of his husband. After last night he had a few questions about what Takahiro wanted, but wouldn't push the issue if Usagi was still mentally exhausted. Either way, he stopped the first maid he saw and asked if she'd seen Usagi, but she claimed that she hadn't. Misaki thanked her and continued on to the training grounds.

On his way there though, the princess was stopped by what he assumed to be a squire. "Morning m'lady. If yer looking fer da master, I seen him in da mess hall."

"OH, thank you young man." Misaki said gratefully. He curtseyed cordially and changed direction. While he did find it strange that his husband was in the mess hall this early, he rationed that he must have been up late dealing with Takahiro's letter. Perhaps he didn't even sleep at all, and was just trying get energy in any way he could.

When he arrived at the mess hall, it appeared to be completely vacant. "Usagi?" He said, feeling slightly uneasy as his voice echoed back to him. He wandered aimlessly inside and managed to get about half way up the hall before he heard the door slam shut. Startled. He jolted up and looked in the direction of the door. An armed person he didn't recognize was standing there, but he couldn't focus on him for long. Behind him he could hear footsteps rapidly advancing. Four men dressed in similar garb were running directly toward the bewildered princess, swords drawn. Misaki didn't think, he just reacted. When the men were upon him, he quickly drew his blade and slashed two of them across the chest. The other two were instantly caught off guard when they saw their comrades take a hit and go down. One of them shouted out, "she's armed!" In their brief moment of hesitation he moved forward and attempted to slice through them. His first attack landed, barely, and managed to draw blood from one of their arms. His second attack was thwarted when a sword clashed with his own. It was now that he seriously cursed his decision to wear a corset.

All of a sudden he heard someone else running up behind him. He didn't have much time to react, but he did manage to jump out of the way. There was some distance between them now, and the terrified Misaki attempted to run. The door was unguarded, it was likely his best chance of survival. So he bolted as fast as he could, but there was just no way he could outrun them. One caught up and grabbed Misaki's arm, and he immediately bashing that hand with the hilt of his sword. All at once he was rushed. One of the men grabbed him from behind while another punched him in the stomach. Misaki, though now severely slowed, raised his leg and kicked his attacker in the chest. After a struggle, he broke free of the grip holding him in place and tried running again. He didn't get far, until one of them men was upon him again, sword raised. He was able to deflect the strike with his own sword, but was then knocked to the ground by a kick to his back. Misaki couldn't help but drop his only line of defense when the air was forced from his lungs. He coughed a few times and before he could get off the floor, he was forced down so that his face was pressed against the hard stone floor. Another rush of fear surged through him as he felt his arms stretched and bound with something coarse. Seconds later he was flipped face up and a sock was stuffed into his mouth as his legs were bound and his eyes were covered with opaque cloth. Somehow they managed to slip him into a sack. The princess struggled in vain as his attackers pulled back to catch their breaths.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, the gash isn't that deep."

"Will you be able to make it back?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Misaki couldn't see what was going on, but he assumed they were addressing the men he injured. He shook and shuddered, terrified of what might befall him. Without warning he was kicked hard in the ribs. "You bitch!" He felt two more hits before it stopped. All the princess could do in this position was curl up in an attempt to mitigate any further attacks.

"Easy now, don't damage the goods too much. You'll ruin the value."

"Dumb bitch needs to learn her place."

"I can't let the gash she gave me go unpunished."

"Suck it up you guys, you're fine."

"Tch." The disgruntled man appeared to stand down then, as Misaki felt no more violent impacts after that.

Seconds later the princess felt himself hoisted up and slung over someone's shoulder, and he was helpless to do anything about it. When he heard the mess hall door open, he started squirming and wailing in a last ditch effort to catch an ally's attention. Though, his muffled cries reached no helpful ears, it only earned him a slap across the face. "Stop squirming!" The princess then went still and complacent. Tears formed in his eyes but were quickly absorbed by the blindfold. Aside from the shaking caused by the terror and sobbing, he didn't move at all.

They walked for a few minutes until they all stopped. Misaki could hear the disinterested sigh of a horse. Then he was tossed carelessly into what he assumed to be a supply cart. One of the men said "yah!" and then the cart started moving. Misaki could hear the sound of hooves on the ground. His heart raced and he could feel the sweat building on his forehead. The gravity of the situation hadn't fully set in yet, but he was in full panic mode. The only things he could piece together was that they mentioned value or something, and that they called him goods. His mind cycled though forced prostitution, or a marriage paid for by a single buyer. He wept for his hopeless situation.

-Meanwhile-

Usagi had just been in the library, scratching down a few more line of his latest epic poem. When he got tired of that, he went back to his room in search of his wife. Naturally he didn't find Misaki, so he very casually asked around. He gained no information, but he didn't think anything of it. Nothing seemed off as of yet. A sense of unease did start creeping in as the day progressed and his search continued to be fruitless. After he searched the entirety of the training grounds and drilled everyone for information and still gaining nothing, actual panic started to set in. The only thing he could do was speed up his ground coverage and search harder. He almost trampled one of the new recruits, who was only able to catch his attention by tapping his shoulder.

"What?!"

"Beggin' your pardon Milord, but there's been some kind of conflict in the mess hall."

Usagi's eyes widened, and he made his way directly to the mess hall. There were already a few people there, looking around and trying to make sense of the blood stains on the floor. Those same stains drew the prince's attention right away. As he drew nearer, he was nearly stopped dead by the sight of Misaki's sword lying unsheathed on the floor. He approached and picked up the weapon. There could be no mistake, it had to be Misaki's blade. The blood on the metal made his own blood run cold. Was it Misaki's, or the remnants of someone who had attacked Misaki?

His breath hitched and he headed out. He'd send out a declaration to start a search. If there was any chance that Misaki was alive, he'd be sure to find him and bring him back safely.

-Far away-

Eventually the cart came to a stop and some muffled chatter could be heard. They had been travelling for what seemed like hours, but it did nothing to dull the unending fear Misaki was feeling. It wasn't long until he was picked up and slung over a shoulder again. A heavy door creaked open and soon the sound of footsteps on stone echoed. Though he couldn't see, he could tell that he was going down a staircase. The air around him seemed heavy and cold. The trip down the stairs didn't last long though, and whoever was carrying him stopped moving. The sound of metal scraping stone was heard and seconds later Misaki was thrown to the cold stone floor. Something like snickering could be heard, and then Misaki felt a hand on his face. Finally the blindfold was removed and the princess was face to face with one of his captors. The man wasted no time slapping him across the face. It stung, it hurt, but Misaki hardly reacted.

"Easy now, don't damage her face. He was especially interested in her face."

"Tch." The attacker said, pulling back. Misaki could now see the torn shirt and blood stains from when he was cut earlier. "Her face is the only thing she has going for her. No one's going to want her for her body." He grabbed Misaki's chin and tilted his face up. The princess, though his eyes were still red from crying, showed nothing but defiance. The man grinned. "But I can see the appeal here heh." At that he leaned in and ran his tongue from Misaki's jaw to his ear. Disgust surged like an electrical storm throughout his whole body and he could do nothing about it.

"Have all the fun you want with her, but make sure you don't deflower her. We might not be able to sell her if she isn't pure."

Misaki tensed. As much as he didn't want to be violated by this greasy looking group of bandits, he was even more worried about being found out. In this situation, the best he could hope for was instant slaughter, but it could easily escalate into an international incident if this information was made public. Everything he worked for up until now would be ruined, and both his brother and his husband would likely fall. His fear became evident as the colour drained from his face.

"Such a shame." The bandit nearest the princess said as he stood. "I'd like to fuck her senseless."

"Suck it up. The money'll be worth it."

At that, the one Misaki assumed to the head of the group closed a door. It was only now that he realized that he was in some sort of metal cage. As the bandits turned and walked away, Misaki could hear one final comment. "And if that guy doesn't pay up, we'll have ourselves a little plaything." Their voices became lower and less audible until a door father away closed. They had taken their torches with them and so Misaki was left there in total darkness with his limbs tightly bound. He remained silent and motionless for what seemed like an eternity, listening for other people, breathing, movement. It was hard since his pulse was running wild in his ears. Eventually he deduced there was no one else in the prison with him. All of a sudden the panic took over and he flailed against the restraints. The coarse material cut his skin but didn't loosen. His mind hardly registered the pain, it did nothing to slow his movements. He only stopped struggling when he ran out of energy. After all that he had nothing to show for it except raw, broken skin around his wrists and ankles. His ragged breath cut through the silence, he wasn't sure if he was hearing an echo after a while. This couldn't be the end for him, there had to be a way out…

-At the Castle-

All able units had been called to the grand hall, including all of the units in Misaki's train. A buzz of confusion permeated the room. The sudden summons had everyone speculating, but the main area of concern was the prince's stress level. Many of the units had never seen their future king so distressed, it in turn caused a great deal of stress among the units.

Usagi entered and all chatter ceased in an instant. He stood before the group with Misaki's bloodstained sword still in hand, wasting no time getting to the point. "Princess Misaki has gone missing." He paused a moment to gauge the reaction of his units. "Earlier today I found her sword in the mess hall, but other than that I have no clues as to where she is. Our top priority is finding her and bringing her back unharmed."

They all stood strong, "Yes sir!"

"Contact all mediums and seers, and anyone else who might be of use. Field team, search the perimeter and wild lands. Home team, you all search inside our borders."

"Yes sir!"

"Furthermore, if any of you find anything, report to me immediately."

"Yes sir!"

"I expect you're all prepared?"

"Your Lordship, should we send word to Lord Takahiro?"

The prince hesitated. While that would help with the search, the consequences of doing so were unpredictable. He wasn't sure if it would cause an incident or not, so he'd rather not increase the tension. "We will send word in a few days if our search is barren." He intentionally left the time frame ambiguous. "Let's hope we find her before then."

"Yes sir!"

"Now go! Leave no stone unturned!"

"Yes sir!" And with that, they headed out.

After everyone left, the prince sought out an oracle. Having so few clues to go on, he figured the only way they'd make any progress would be through other worldly assistance. The oracle he chose was one on the outskirts of the borders, and the only reason he chose her specifically was her proximity to the wild lands.

He went alone to her place. Right away she let him in. Right away he knelt by her table as she lit some incense and blindfolded herself. "I already know why you're here, Milord." She knelt by the table with him. "Do you have an object that once belonged to the princess?"

Usagi handed over the sword. "This object was only hers for a short time, but I'm certain she had strong feelings for it."

The oracle took the blade silently and ran her hand over it. She visibly flinched when her fingers touched the now dried blood. "A quill, if you please." At that request, she gestured to the shelf. Usagi did as he was instructed and retrieved a quill and paper, with which the oracle scratched out the faces of two unknowns. "Rest assured Milord, the blood on the blade is not the princess's. It belongs to the two men I saw. As for the princess's location, I can't see a thing, it's too dark. I can say for certain that she is alive. I can't attest to her current state, but she is alive."

He breathed a sigh of relief. At least he could hold on to hope of finding his wife. "My thanks." He said, taking the drawing of the two men. While it was crude, it provided enough details to identify the two people. Naturally he'd be showing it around to everyone he could. "Do you think you could keep up your second sight for a while? If Misaki sees anything that may identity her location, I want to know about it."

"I will try Milord."

"Thank you." He said, moving to the door. At that, he took his leave. He vowed not to rest until his wife was safely inside the borders once more.


	14. No Way Out

A/N: I've got two kind of samey chapters again, it's essentially the same time passing in both chapters, but from the different perspectives. This is Misaki's part, Usagi's part is in the next chapter. Also, WARNING! Misaki's going to undergo some rough treatment and the like, tread carefully!

* * *

Blood dripped from the ropes onto the floor. Misaki had long since stopped struggling, but his broken skin was still raw and oozing. It was cold, the air, the floor, everything. Was it so cold because he was losing blood? It didn't seem like that much, that couldn't be it. Still, the air around him, musty and stagnant, was starting to make him shiver. He couldn't even move around to warm himself up, as any motion would only aggravate his torn flesh. Shivering and struggling had depleted his energy, so he wondered if he would end up freezing to death alone in the dark like this.

The panic had started to fade into a dull buzz. There was no way to keep up that level of terror, it was too energy costly. Sure, fear still surged through him, but now he could think a little more clearly. He was tied in a cage, it was dark, there was a door somewhere at the top of a staircase, he was alone. If he were going to escape, he'd have to do it now. No doubt they would stop him if they were present, and unarmed as he was, there was no chance of him fighting them off. Of course, he'd have to find a way to at least untie his legs. Even if he somehow managed to escape, tied as he was, he wouldn't get far. He could worry about his arms later, if he could somehow free his legs, he might be able to run. Would it be possible for him to find something sharp? Would he be able to chew through the ropes if it came to that?

Misaki pushed himself up against the bars of his cage, assessing if he could slide through or not. He quickly realised that it would be impossible, they were too close together to even get a leg through. He knew he'd barely be able to fit his arm through, so getting his whole body through would be simply out of the question. Where was the door? Was it unlocked? That seemed unlikely, but if he could distinguish where the door was, he could at least try to force it open.

He struggled around, trying to find what he thought to be the door. The cold bars deterred him, but he didn't stop right away. If there was a chance of finding the door, he'd take it. Eventually he gave up, there didn't seem to be any distinction along those bars, and pressing his body against them only made him colder. In this situation, he knew he had to conserve as much of his body heat as possible. Giving up, he wormed his way back to a corner and pressed himself against it. It was cold at first, but he knew his body heat would eventually reflect back to him. This would be the best way to conserve energy.

Time passed, he wasn't sure how much. With no sun, he couldn't tell if it was day or night, and the stone felt the same, never changing. A sound could be heard, and a glint of light filtered down from above. Misaki was slightly relieved to know the direction of the door leading outside, but also terrified to know that someone was coming.

Torch light replaced daylight as the door to freedom closed. A single man humming some disjointed tune descended the staircase and placed his torch on a hook nearby. It was too dim to see anything other than the vague outline of the man, and Misaki tried his hardest to stay silent and out of sight. Only a tiny hint of light hit him, it was possible that he could be overlooked entirely if the mystery person wasn't paying attention.

The sound of something small hitting wood could be heard, then the sound of metal hitting the floor. Some of the torchlight reflected off of what Misaki assumed to be coins on a formless table. The mystery man chuckled to himself, and muttered something unintelligible. So far so good, Misaki was certain that this person was unaware of his existence. Misaki took this opportunity to gain as much information as he could, seeing if he could find the door to his cage, and maybe something sharp he could use to cut his bindings. The light was limited, but it was certainly better than the complete darkness he had become accustomed to.

His investigation was cut short when the mystery man glanced his way. Instantly he was paralysed with fear and tried to stay perfectly still, but it was too late. Somehow the man had noticed him, and now he could do nothing but hope he didn't care enough to hassle him.

The mystery man grabbed the torch and approached. His face seemed to light up once he could get a good look at the captive Misaki. "My, what do we have here?" He said, enthralled. "OOooo, my luck's just getting better and better!" At that, he pulled what looked like a shimmering key ring from his pocket and scrolled through the few keys present. At least Misaki now knew his cell was locked, and could abandon hope of sneaking out.

Seconds later the door became unlocked and pushed aside. The harsh noise of metal scratching stone permeated the small space and the princess flinched. The man closed the door behind him, it was unclear as to whether or not it locked again, and approached. Misaki's face was seized, and the man sized it up with a hungry look.

"Oh, you're a pretty one. That's for sure. What's a pretty girl like you doing in a place like this?"

Misaki tried to pull away, but couldn't break that grip on his chin. "No, leave me alone." He said in a meek, terror stricken voice. He couldn't let this happen, he couldn't let himself be found out…

"Now now, no need to be like that." He said, his voice getting more and more threatening by the syllable. "I ain't gonna hurt ya, I'm gonna show you a good time."

"Don't touch me! Stop!" He struggled, but the biting pain in his wrists and ankles slowed his movements. His voice lacked conviction and he could feel tears welling up in his eyes again.

His words were ignored, and soon he felt a tongue on his neck again. The sensation was entirely disgusting and unpleasant, it made him cringe in horror. "I'm guessing you're some kind of reward from one of our customers? Oh, he must've been mighty generous to offer up someone like you."

In his wild thoughts, Misaki suddenly formulated a plan that might get him out of this situation. If he just told the truth as best he could, maybe he could be spared. "No, you've got it wrong, I'm not a present, I'm a commodity." As much as it pained him to refer to himself as such, if he could stop this from happening, he'd buy into that narrative fully.

The man pulled back with a sort of dissatisfied look on his face. "A commodity, you say…"

"Uh, yes, I'm being held here for one of your clients. He said specifically that I must be pure, or else you won't get paid."

"Heh, if someone comes here with the money and refuses to pay, we'll just slit his throat and take it anyway."

"You don't know if he'll have the money on him though." He was just saying whatever came to mind first. His desperation was obvious, and he was trying his hardest to come up with something to get him out of this. "He might want to inspect me first, to make sure you all did your job…"

"Eh, either way, you're a fine prize already. I'd rather have you than the gold."

"But, your crew…"

"Just as long as the boss doesn't find out, what do I care?" His tone had become highly dismissive, and it seemed like he wasn't going to be reasoned with on the subject. At that he hauled the princess onto his lap, and ran a hand across his chest. As disgusting as it was to be touched by this man, he was more worried that his lightly padded bra wouldn't be convincing enough. Luckily, that didn't seem to be the case.

He ground his hips against Misaki's back, and even through the many layers of clothing, he could feel something poking him. He felt himself gag at the thought of this man's intentions. "No, please…"

"What's wrong lady? Do you not like it?" His voice was not the slightest bit apologetic. Misaki could feel hands toying with the restraints on his dress, and squirmed frantically. He felt a smack to the back of his head then, not as hard as he experienced lately, but still hard enough to make him go complacent. "Yeah, you better be good. You wouldn't want to damage that pretty face of yours."

"Actually…" He started, though much less assured than before. "Whoever is buying me really likes my face, so it would probably be good to not be so violent." Misaki had never thought about acting so meekly. He had always been in a position of relative power. Now here he was, begging for his integrity while helpless.

"Well, I don't have to hurt your face, now do I?" He still seemed completely unhindered and pulled on the strings holding up the dress at his leisure. It didn't take too long for him to get bored of that, as it was harder and more tedious than he expected. So instead of trying to strip the princess of her dress, he ran a hand under the skirt. Misaki jolted up again, closing his legs as tightly as he could given his bindings and the odd position he was being held in.

"No, no-"

"You're not being very inviting. Try being a little more sexy, okay?" The man's hands continued to travel up Misaki's skirt. He was terror stricken and couldn't move. His whole body appeared to seize up, even though he felt nothing but revulsion. He ground his teeth as he felt his butt being fondled. If it was just this, he could take it, probably. Just as long as his identity wasn't revealed, he could deal with it. It was vile, he hated every second of it, but as long as his country wasn't ruined because of him, he'd deal with it.

A sudden sound stopped the treatment. The perpetrator turned his attention to the doorway, apparently afraid of what might happen. Misaki didn't know if that was a good thing or not. Light filtered down once more, and the sound of chatter could be heard. Misaki did the only thing he could think of and shouted, "Help!"

"Quiet you!" He said, though didn't make a move to release him.

His call managed to grab the attention of whoever was coming down those stairs. They carried with them only one extra torch, and rapidly approached. These were the men that attacked him in the mess hall, but at the very least one of them seemed concerned. Misaki didn't care if that concern came exclusively from the desire to optimise profits, he just wanted this unwarranted exploration of his body to stop.

"What are you doing?" The presumed leader said. Immediately the mystery man leap up, and Misaki limply slid out of his grasp. A sigh of relief built up in Misaki's throat.

"I was just sampling, isn't this okay?"

"Get out of there. Do you know how much we're getting paid?" The leader sighed then. "You can have her if the guy doesn't pay up. Until then, hands off."

"Fine, fine." The door was opened then, and Misaki was left alone as the group sat around the table, now mostly hidden from sight.

He was so grateful for that that he felt himself tear up. Though, his mind wandered to the buyer, apparently he was rich, so he also likely had power. How was Misaki supposed get out of this? With every new thing he learned, his situation became more and more hopeless.


	15. Search

A/N: This is essentially what's going on with the home team, Misaki's part is in the previous chapter.

* * *

The entirety of the castle was alive in their search for the princess. Usagi didn't tolerate any slacking, even for a second. While no clues turned up, it did nothing to slow the efforts. Whenever anyone became too slow to adequately help, mostly due to fatigue, Usagi would order them to sleep for a few hours and then get back to work. Everyone of course was starting to feel fatigue, yet there was enough genuine concern to keep everyone motivated.

There was a small group of guards tasked with keeping correspondence with the oracle. She was keeping watch, her spell allowed her to see through Misaki's eyes, but so far she only saw darkness. Aside from seeing through the princess's eyes, she could hone in on emotions if they were strong enough, but only faintly. Her skill level didn't allow her to hear what Misaki heard, or feel what he felt, though some did appear to have this ability in the past. She had been keeping everyone as informed as she could, but most of her reports consisted of admitting that she couldn't see anything except darkness.

The guards there were mostly a formality, and they were more or less sitting around killing time. They thought they had gotten off easily, since they weren't being worked into the ground like everyone else was. Occasionally they'd nod, or confirm the oracle's latest report, but mostly they were just waiting around for something to happen.

The bored and sleepy guards were stirred from their doldrums by a sudden startled yelp from the oracle. "I see something." She declared. "Someone pass me a quill."

"Right away ma'am!" At that, he placed the quill in her hand, and the inkpot in the other. They watched as she drew what she saw. Her expression was one of distress, growing in severity as time passed. All the while she tried to accurately draw what she saw among the commotion.

Whatever she was seeing, or feeling, appeared to be intense. Her concentration became unbreakable, until she relaxed slightly. "It's dimming again, the light is going…" She placed her quill down then, but didn't remove her blindfold. "I need you to get the prince. I have new information for him."

"Good news I hope."

"Not exactly. The news I have will not be pleasant for him to hear, but I have the face of a new man. I can see a little bit of the room too, I can tell it's some kind of dungeon at least. I don't think it is enough to get an exact location, but I think it could help narrow down the search." Her drawing of the man's face concluded and she moved on to attempting to draw the features of the dungeon. Unfortunately, with no distinguishing features, it didn't really provide much to go on.

"Right." The guard said. At that he was off to report to his prince.

-In the Grand Hall-

Usagi and Aikawa, as well as a small train were well into going over angles of attack. Since their search had been barren so far, they were concocting ideas as to where to look and who to ask to speed up their search. So far they hadn't been able to come up with anything useful.

"I've come up with some ideas as to what might have happened." Aikawa stated. "I think it's possible that Farrian nationalists kidnapped the princess to prevent the wedding. If she's still alive, they might not even be known criminals."

"It is possible." He was really only caring about how to find his lover. The kidnapper's motivation was of no consequence to him, as if he found the perpetrator, the punishment would be the same regardless.

"Do you recall someone who might have been against the wedding?"

"There were a few citizens who were opposed to it, but I didn't see any open aggression."

"Okay, what if instead, the kidnappers are Taidan? Do you think it's possible that they were also opposed to giving their princess to their enemy?"

"So far we haven't gotten any information from the oracle. If Misaki had made it to Taida, I think she would have seen something."

"Don't count it out just yet." She said. They turned their attention back to the map of the castle and surrounding wildlands then. Pins had been placed in every location that had been searched. Most of the map had been filled in with pins, and they had been thinking about where to search next. Aikawa was trying to think of the situation from different angles so that they could use their time more effectively. So far they weren't able to come up with something that would help their efforts, but that wasn't going to stop them from trying. "There's still the possibility that Misaki is blindfolded, if the oracle can't see anything, it might just mean that Misaki herself can't see."

"I know, that's why we've been stuck." Naturally he was getting increasingly more frustrated. The thought of his lover being abused or mistreated kept him on edge, and every second Misaki stayed missing he became more agitated. "After all this time, it's possible that Misaki has been taken into neighbouring countries."

"It's possible, sure, but why would our neighbours do such a thing?"

"I don't care why, when I find out who did this…"

"Calm down and think clearly, you're not doing Misaki any favours by losing focus."

He sighed. The stress was getting to him, and quickly turning into both anger and despair. Just then someone entered the grand hall, looking a little more fresh and alert than the guards present. "Milord! I've gotten new information from the wildlands oracle!"

"Report." He said, with the sharpness returning to his eyes.

"Sir! The oracle has seen something, the face of a man, and the interior of a room! She requests your presence!"

At that, Usagi was on his feet and bolting out the door. The few people in his train followed after.

-At the wildlands-

The door to the oracle's modest house was nearly destroyed by an overeager Usagi storming in. She continued sitting at her table with her blindfold on, a few noticeable drawings scattered around. "I am glad you could make it, Milord."

"Do you have new information?"

"Milord, I've seen a new face. Here." She passed over her latest drawing, another simple sketch of an unknown man. Usagi looked it over carefully, making sure he remembered it. "I was also able to see inside the room Misaki is currently being kept. It is a dark room, but I can't yet see anything to distinguish which one."

"Thank you." He said, taking her drawings. She was right, the nondescript dungeon didn't exactly clue him in to where Misaki was, he could at least focus the search on places that better resembled what she saw.

"I have news as well, some that may be troublesome to you." She cleared her throat and continued. "The man I saw this time, um, he was handling the princess…"

Immediately his expression turned murderous. "What do you mean handling?" Sure he had an idea, but he wanted to confirm his suspicion.

"What I mean is, he was touching her, all over her body… I can feel a sense of terror and disgust from her..."

Rage flooded him and his hands balled into fists. It never even crossed his mind that someone might find out Misaki's sex, no, that wasn't a concern for him. Just the thought of someone touching his lover like that made his blood boil. Fatigue or not, he was going to find them and make them pay. "What of the location? Did you see anything else?"

"Yes, the princess is being held in a dungeon, I think. There are stone walls, and the princess is in a cage behind bars. I can tell the room outside the cage is spacious, there is a table, I didn't see any windows…"

"We will divert our efforts to locations similar to what you described. Until then, you need to keep watching."

"I will try Milord." She said, bowing her head.

With that, he stood up and left. On his way out he handed the drawing to one of the guards and ordered him to show it to everyone currently searching. He had already committed that face to memory, and if he happened to run into him he'd be sure to press him for information, and then administer the proper punishment for his crimes.

He made his way to the dungeons, just to make sure someone wasn't hiding out there without him knowing. Naturally he pressed everyone around, and all of the guards claimed to have not seen anyone suspicious, and they certainly hadn't seen the princess. Another day passed and it seemed like little to no progress was made.

While most of his train were finally turning in for the night, Usagi stayed awake. Those who elected to join the night search team met up with him and gathered the new information. No matter what anyone said, the prince would not stop his search. He vowed not to rest until his wife was safely in his grasp.


	16. Sight at Last

Silent stillness, devoid of warmth, darkness.

The darkness enveloped Misaki's senses, giving him a crushing sense of despair. How long had he been left here alone? Hours? Days? Longer? His stomach growled and his mouth felt dry. His bound limbs were strained and sore. It was make worse by the silent darkness slowly creeping into his mind, contaminating his thoughts.

 _'That's right, I'm here because I wasn't strong enough.'_

This kind of thing invaded his mind as of late, how this situation was his fault, and how if he tried harder, been stronger, or maybe even smarter, then he wouldn't be in this situation now.

 _'I let everyone down. I let my country down…'_

He had these thoughts since his childhood. If only he had been born a girl, then he wouldn't have let his parents and brother down. Now here he was, helpless. At any moment he could be found out.

 _'I wonder if I'm causing trouble for Usagi too…'_

Somehow his mind wandered to his sham of a husband. Was he worried? Misaki rationed that he was more or less looking because it was required of him. Of course there would be an international incident if Usagi did nothing while his foreign princess wife went missing, so if nothing else he had to pretend to care.

What would happen though, if Usagi was unable to find him? Would that alone spark tension between their countries? If it didn't, would Usagi just shrug it off and move on? Probably, there wasn't any reason for the relationship if the peace of their countries didn't hang in the balance. Maybe if he stayed missing, Usagi could just move on with his life instead of wasting his time on a false romance.

 _'All I do is cause trouble for everyone.'_ With his energy depleted, he couldn't even cry about it. The depression gripped him, and deeply poisoned his mind.

A sudden sound broke the silence and lifted Misaki off of the edge of insanity. As much as he didn't want to deal with those bandits again, any human interaction was a welcome change. Very slowly the surrounding room became illuminated by torchlight. Misaki watched with anticipation as his captors and their torches filled the room. One eyed the princess with contempt. He approached then, and tossed something carelessly inside Misaki's cage. It hit the floor with a sloppy wet sound. "Eat up." He barked, before turning his attention back to his group. The sound of metal hitting stone could be heard but Misaki couldn't tell what was going on.

His attention turned to the mysterious thing on the floor. It smelled like low quality meat boiled to the consistency of rubber. Normally he'd complain endlessly if he was served such a thing, but as of now he wouldn't dare risk it. With his sense of time rendered null and void, he couldn't tell when his last meal was. Tasteless, questionable meat almost seemed like a godsend. Using what little energy he had, he forced his body to move caterpillar style toward the unidentified meat. Somehow he managed to raise his head just enough to tear off some of that grey flesh with his teeth. As he expected, it was tasteless and difficult to chew. Misaki couldn't believe he was eating such disgusting meat off the floor, but he didn't know when or if he'd be fed again. All the while he listened as carefully as he could to his captors.

"…And I smacked him in his smarmy mouth."

"And you took the chicken anyway?"

"Yup."

They laughed. Apparently they weren't talking about the details of Misaki's situation. Despite everything, he was relieved to hear some human voices. Sure it didn't give him a sense of security, but hearing the voices of his fellow man made him remember that he was part of the world. Though, the fear and anxiety from before came back in full force, it was still better than the psychological torture of isolation and sensory deprivation.

His attention wandered, until the discussion became about his fate. "So when is that guy coming?"

"I've gotten word that he'll reach us in a few days." That information was dubious at best, but they'd take what they could get given the circumstance. "I haven't heard from him specifically though. I've heard from some guys that they haven't seen him around either."

"What should we do with her until then?"

"Just leave her, as long as she's alive and her face is unharmed, I'm sure he'll pay the agreed price."

"She'll make a decent prize even if he doesn't pay up."

Misaki tensed. It wasn't like he could do anything about the situation, but a few days seem so final. By now he had given up hope of being rescued, and he had long since given up hope of escaping. Instead he resigned himself to worry about the buyer and what might happen when his identity was discovered. He knew no matter what, things could not end well for him. Aside from that, what kind of person would want to buy him in the first place? Did he really make such a convincing girl?

He numbed his mind and focussed on chewing and swallowing the sloppy meal before him. He noticed that his limbs had gotten considerably weak, he wasn't sure if that was because of hunger or fatigue or because of the inactivity. Something had to happen, he had to stretch. Though, he was too cowed by terror to try anything with his captors watching. He put all of his energy into getting the mystery meat into his mouth. Eventually he was biting into bone, and he rolled onto his back to conserve energy.

After some time though, he was approached and his cell door was opened. He was ready to defend himself as best he could given the circumstance. That was, curling up on the off chance that they wanted to attack him.

"Look at that, she actually ate it."

"Get the bones, if she gets bitten by rats it'll only make her sick."

Misaki hadn't thought of that, and was grateful that they at least thought ahead enough to prevent illnesses. For the briefest of moments he thought of that as a really nice gesture, but then immediately remembered that they were the ones who captured him in the first place. How far gone was his mind?

After that, they closed up the cell without another word to him, and left. He also felt relief when the door to his cell was closed without further action. No one hassled him, so he could at least relax knowing that he could survive another day. When they left, the torches went with them. The lights went out and he was left in darkness again. The desolation hit him hard once more, and he began silently sobbing to himself.

-Meanwhile-

The oracle was starting to feel fatigue from staying alert and using her power for so long. Still, she knew she wouldn't please her king by giving up, so she had to stay diligent until she found out something. She was sharp enough to not be affected by the darkness yet, but even she felt like she'd start losing her mind if this kept up.

She jolted up once she saw light, and her attention focussed on the new objects coming into view. With so many torches, she could finally get a better view of the room. Immediately she began drawing what she saw, stone walls and the faces of the captors behind bars. Much of the dungeon was plain an indistinguishable, so she tried her hardest to focus on any special or unique features. At the back, nearly hidden by shadows, was what appeared to be an engraving of a bird with a flower in its talons. It was barely visible, but she thought it would be important in determining where exactly this place was.

Not long after she took the blindfold off and the spell was broken. Weakened, she staggered to her door, just to see if the guards were still there. She didn't have the energy to make it to the castle, so she'd have to rely on the hired help. Luckily they were still there, disinterested, but there. "Quickly, take these to the prince. The princess is being held in a dungeon with a bird insignia somewhere, there are six men present, everything is visible by torchlight. It's all I managed to see." She said, startling the disinterested guards. "Let our prince know as soon as possible."

"Yes ma'am!" Without question he took her drawings and left.

She returned to her house and abruptly went to bed, her energy reserves completely exhausted.

-At the castle-

The search for Misaki had been underway for three full days. The only lead they had was from the oracle, and that wasn't much help. All they had to go on was that Misaki was either in a place that was completely dark, or that he was blindfolded still. Her spell allowed her to see through his eyes, and as of yet she had only reported seeing darkness. Though, the minor hint they managed to get was the slight torchlight and the mystery man that appeared briefly. There was nothing there to distinguish the location, and it was still unclear if they blindfolded Misaki after the light faded. Whether he was in a dark room or blindfolded, she couldn't gain any information. If it turned out that he was blindfolded, they literally had nothing to go on. The captors could be on the move and so there was no set location. The only thing she could suggest was to check all dark and secluded places.

Naturally Usagi had been searching around the castle grounds the whole time. The dark circles under his eyes had become pronounced, but despite his fatigue he showed no signs of slowing. The only time he stopped was during reports from his and Misaki's train, and the occasional idea from Aikawa. If someone dared try to stop him without reporting new information, he immediately became hostile and demanded they get back to work searching. All searches had turned up fruitless, until one of the units that kept in touch with the oracle appeared. Naturally he was looking equally as haggard as he was standing guard waiting for something to happen. "Milord! The wildland's oracle has seen something!"

"She has?" Usagi responded, his gaze sharp and fierce despite the lack of sleep. "Report."

"Sir! According to her latest drawing and testimony, the princess is in an underground dungeon with a bird insignia. A group of about six men were spotted in the dungeon, carrying torches as the only source of light."

"Do you have the sketch?"

"Sir!" At that he presented a somewhat detailed sketch. At first it seemed like a standard, unidentifiable dungeon, but a few intricate details differentiated from other places. Usagi sized it up, and something clicked in his head. Somehow he was able to recognise the place. The distinct bird insignia was indicative of group long since disbanded, and if he remembered correctly, he had been in their base before. It was a fort he used to hide out in when he was younger. The engraving was something he remembered writing under, the room lit with many torches. Apparently it had been taken over by common thugs, that was fine. They give him a way to find his princess.

"Summon a medic, some of our defense team, and the field team, we're heading out."

"Right away Sir!" He bowed then and started gathering units.

Usagi was about ready to head out, and when his field team was assembled he'd be quick to go. No map was required this time. The drawing had sparked a memory of when he was young, he could get there easily. The abandoned fort out in the wildlands was a place he knew well, and if bandits were hiding out there, they'd be in for a terrible shock.


	17. Rescue

His mind was hazy, unfocussed, disjointed. Even the pain all over his body felt dull and numbed. The growling in his stomach was relentless, but even that felt muted in the haze of his mind. If only he could will himself to sleep, maybe then he could think straight. If only he could drink some water, maybe the suffering would become more tolerable. After everything, he even wished the man who wanted to buy him would just show up already so he could at least see the light of day.

The captors had returned, but paid no mind to Misaki. They didn't even bother feeding him this time. Instead they appeared to be discussing the details of another job. Misaki could barely hear what was going on, his mind was lost in its haze.

Suddenly there was a loud, harsh noise that was indistinguishable to the princess. He didn't even startle, because his brain hardly registered the noise. Some nondescript commotion could be heard, followed by some pained screams and a declaration of "It's the prince!" That comment marginally registered in the princess's chaotic, dulled thoughts. The prince? Did they figure out Misaki's true identity? No, that couldn't be it. He'd be dead for sure if they did, so what prince were they talking about? Was the person buying him a prince also? A few clashes of metal could be heard, followed by the sound of something heavy hitting the floor. It was a skirmish happening not too far from his cage, and there wasn't a thing he could do about it.

"Where?" A booming voice called. "Where is Misaki?! Tell me!"

Misaki recognised that voice, but it didn't click with him right away. All he knew was hearing that voice made him feel calm and safe. Feeling calm and safe in the midst of a skirmish? Just how delirious was he?

The pained grunts of his captors rang out, as if they were being hit with a blunt object. He could hear the slight clink of something small made of metal, and some jumbled yelps and noises of impact. Misaki couldn't quite tell what was going on, but it sort of sounded like someone was being thrown to the floor. The small room suddenly became unusually still, and Misaki wondered if this was the end for him too.

"Misaki! Misaki!" The voice drew nearer, and after that he found of the cage door being forced open. The princess was pulled into a tight embrace. It finally registered in his mind who the voice belonged to.

"Usagi." His voice was hoarse and weak, but loaded with gratitude. At that he was off the floor, carried bridal style by his husband. Instinctively he clutched his saviour and bit back tears of elation. His filthy dress would probably get his saviour dirty too, but he didn't care as clutched his husband with every ounce of strength he had. Before he knew it, the glorious mid-morning sun hit his skin and refreshed his senses. Nearby was a carriage, with Hiroki and Nowaki standing by. They immediately ran over when they saw the princess.

"Milady, are you unharmed?"

"She's dehydrated, stand down everyone!" Nowaki said. At that he got right to work locating his bottle and holding it to Misaki's lips. The princess seemed to jolt up once the liquid touched his lips. Water poured down his throat and down his face sloppily. It was like he couldn't down it fast enough. When the bottle was empty, Misaki ended up choking slightly in his attempt to chug down as much as possible. The feeling of hydration was absolutely wonderful, the princess thought he might cry from such elation. If he wasn't so tired, he just might have. Medic Nowaki removed the bottle and started his inspection in the cart as some of the others spurred on the horses. Naturally the first things to go were the rough ropes binding his limbs. Usagi joined then, acting like a buffer that would stop Nowaki if he went too far.

Misaki panted a little, but his senses were slowly sharpening. He could clearly see the face of his husband, it calmed him substantially to know that he was in good hands once more. "Usagi." It was almost too good to be true. It was still unclear to him if he was imagining all of this or not.

"Can you hear me Misaki? Are you alright?!"

"Unh…" It was hard to think straight, but he felt his consciousness returning and his mind clearing. If he focussed on that voice then maybe he'd be able to keep his thoughts in line. "Usagi." It was the only thing in his mind right now, the only thing that held any meaning to him. The rest of the world seemed so distant and irrelevant.

Nowaki, being barred from doing a thorough examination of Misaki's body, moved on to searching his case. He then held a piece of fruit to the princess's lips. Misaki reacted automatically and took that fruit inside his mouth. The gentle sweetness nearly brought him to tears once more. He considered it the most delicious thing he'd ever eaten. Still, even if he was just fed, he wasn't given a boost of energy like he expected. Instead, his eyes suddenly burned and his head throbbed. The cart had barely started moving, and yet he was already dead asleep.

The trip back to Castle Ferrion was largely uneventful. Misaki slept the whole way there, and Nowaki ended up not getting very far in his examination despite his efforts in convincing the prince. Usagi certainly didn't want that little detail getting out, so as much as he wanted to get his princess examined, he figured it would be best to do it himself when they got home. They ran into no problem on their way back, much to everyone's relief. Once they arrived, Usagi carried his still sleeping wife up to their room and laid him out on their bed. Misaki continued sleeping for a solid four hours. When he finally stirred awake, Usagi was there by his side with bread and water at the ready, which the princess was grateful for.

As the smaller ate, the larger moved closer and watched carefully. "How are you feeling?"

Despite hearing the question in various forms earlier, he was only now lucid enough to answer. "I'm feeling pretty good now." He turned away, not really sure how to articulate his feelings. It was a chaotic mix of gratitude and embarrassment and something else he couldn't quite place. "Thank you."

Usagi leaned in then and captured his wife in a tight hug. Misaki put up no resistance and gripped his husband tightly in response. This safe feeling stood in such contrast to what he'd been subjected to the past few days that he couldn't express his elation. It was a perfectly serine moment that absolved all of his tension and left him feeling content for the first time in a long time.

Just then a maid came crashing in, out of breath and distressed. Though, she seemed to calm down after spotting Misaki alive and well. "Oh, Milord and Lady! It's good to see you well. Can I get you anything?" She was relieved to see the lady back safely, so much so that she completely forgot about the 'not entering the prince's chambers unannounced' rule. Usagi glared at her for daring to intrude on their reunion.

"I'm fine now, thank you." Misaki said with a wry smile. "I don't need anything." Not from her anyway. Misaki's voice was slightly meek, lacking his usual energetic bite. He too wanted her to leave so he could have some quality time with his husband.

She took the hint then, and graciously bowed out. The royal couple sighed, and Usagi rose to get up and lock the door, being sure to properly secure it this time. Misaki let his eyes fall to half lids as he was approached.

They were alone, and Usagi pulled the younger onto his lap and placed a soft, gentle kiss upon his lips. It was slow and romantic with the slightest hint of longing. Misaki couldn't help but get caught up in the moment and his eyes fluttered shut. The older held him tightly, protectively, as he kissed him with the feelings of relief he had. The princess couldn't even muster the energy to pretend not to want it.

Misaki didn't flinch as he felt a hand travelling up his back, nor did he protest the tug at the strings of his dress. In all honesty he was only too happy to finally be out of that constricting garment. It fell from his shoulders and exposed his bruised torso. Usagi paused at the sight, distraught. "Did they hurt you?"

That comment took Misaki by surprise, as he didn't expect his sham of a husband to care that much. As far as he was concerned, Usagi never needed to know what went on in that dungeon. "I'm okay." It was the last thing he wanted to talk about.

His bruises and guarded body language said otherwise. "Did they touch you?"

Misaki became defensive because of how taken aback he was. "I doubt they'd be as thrilled as you were to find out I'm a man." He didn't elaborate on how much that worried him, since it was already over and done with. He wouldn't bother bringing up all the lewd remarks he heard, that would most likely spur his husband's bloodlust.

The older prince chuckled and gently brought his lips to his lover's neck. He already knew that someone had handled Misaki in such a manner, and it only made him want to comfort his princess more. Gentle fingers caressed the ribs now black and blue with bruises. Misaki shuddered and sighed, offering himself subconsciously to that contact. It was a welcomed change from the rough handling he'd endured. Instinctively he grabbed for Usagi's shoulders and held on tightly while his body was lulled by inviting sensations.

"I was worried." Usagi stated simply.

"So was I." Misaki responded. He'd been worried about getting found out, or about getting killed, but most of all he worried about never getting to see Usagi again. Not that he'd ever admit that.

The larger pressed his lips against Misaki's and a heavy silence fell over the room. Their tongues danced as their inhibitions faded. Seconds later Misaki was on his back and putting up no resistance. His body reacted to each and every touch and subconsciously he craved this kind of attention. With his basic needs finally fulfilled, he could certainly indulge in this emotional one. Soft sighs escaped his lips as Usagi started moving down lower with his kisses. It felt good, and Misaki signalled his approval by grabbing his lover's hair.

Usagi quietly removed his and Misaki's clothing, slowly and seductively. The smaller turned his head, avoiding the gaze of his would be husband. In this condition, he wondered if he would look repulsive. He felt a hand creep over his chest and rest on his chin. Instinctively he turned his head back to meet the eyes of his lover. His lips were captured again and he uttered a soft moan that wasn't heard. The smaller raised his arms and tightly wound them around his husband's neck. Usagi pulled back then, to catch his breath, Misaki's mouth hung open and a trail of saliva ran down his chin.

Despite everything, Usagi knew Misaki was in no condition for this kind of thing right now, so he instead moved away and sat next to him. The smaller of the two looked on with slight confusion, but then he too realised he was in no condition for anything even remotely physically demanding. "I love you Misaki, I want to see you back to your old self."

The smaller didn't quite know how to react. He knew for sure that he was feeling disappointed, but he sort of knew he didn't have the energy for sex. "I told you I'm fine." His voice was slowly lapsing back into its weak tone from earlier. Despite having already slept through most of the day, he still felt endlessly fatigued.

Usagi only responded by hauling him into a hug again. Misaki closed his eyes and gave into the warmth that enveloped him. "Sleep well, my love." He said finally, laying Misaki out again and covering him. All night Usagi stayed awake, watching intently, making sure his lover was still breathing.


	18. Interlude 2

The tired searchers all returned to their rooms for the night. While they were all elated to have the princess back safely, the constant work over the last couple of days had run their energy reserves dry. Perhaps a proper celebration could begin once everyone had recovered from little sleep.

Kamijou and Nowaki were among the last of the units to retreat for night, given that they were along with Usagi and stayed around a little longer to make sure Misaki was okay. Nowaki especially was worried about the princess's well-being because he hadn't been permitted to do a thorough examination.

"I'm just glad everything turned out okay." The tired Nowaki said with elation. Even if he wasn't well acquainted with the princess, he knew that the prince was well enamoured with him. It was heartwarming for him to see a couple grow so close.

"Yeah, me too." Kamijou mumbled. His opinion of the prince's relationship was much different from Nowaki's. He held no ill will toward his incognito prince, but his lingering feelings for Akihiko made him crippled by jealousy every time he saw them sharing affection. What made it worse was that he didn't know if Usagi knew about Misaki or not, and so if he had accepted the feelings of a woman over his, it would only add to his feelings of failure and heartbreak. It was just difficult for him to stay dutiful in the position he was in. After thinking such defeating thoughts, he sighed and turned toward his room.

"Hiro-san, in the morning I'll have to give the princess a thorough examination. Wish me luck." He said with a slight grin.

That comment caught his attention. "You don't have to do that, we'll have some Taidan medics look her over tomorrow, when she's rested…"

"Ah, Hiro-san, I have to do it. The council wants me to make sure the princess is healthy and fertile, as well as in good condition after what happened to her…"

Kamijou now felt a sense of panic welling up in his chest. If he didn't find a way to stop this from happening, their whole act here would have been for nothing. "Nowaki, do you think we'd allow a foreigner to assess the princess like that? Do you know what an offense that would be to our house?!" Most of his indignation came from fear. He had to do anything to keep the council from knowing.

"I know, the order does seem invasive." He ran a hand through his hair then, trying to come up with the right words, "but, our council has to know if the princess will make for a suitable mate, and if she is unable to bear children, we cannot approve of the marriage."

This was a terrible situation, one that Kamijou certainly didn't need. He had only just recovered from the stress of losing the princess, and now he had to figure out how to distract Nowaki so they could keep the secret alive.

"You don't have to go right now, right? They just got back, give them some time to recover."

"I suppose I could do that. A few more hours won't hurt."

Kamijou sighed, but his heart pounded. There had to be a way to keep Nowaki away from Misaki, who knew what would happen if he found out about their secret? "Erm, well, since we're killing time, why don't you show me how much you've progressed with your training?" He tried to stifle the tension in his voice as he suggested this. It probably wouldn't hold him off forever, but if he could just distract him until he came up with a plan-

"Are you sure? Aren't you tired from the search?"

Nowaki was right, after the past few days, barely anyone had any energy left. That wasn't going to stop him from doing everything he could to keep the plan alive. "That's not the attitude of someone who's taking their training seriously!" He barked using the little energy that he had. "You have to be ready at all times in case of attack! Are you going soft on me?"

"No, it's just-"

"Didn't you tell me that you would rise to my standard?! What happened to that devotion?"

"You're right." He said with a slight grin and a defeated sigh. "Should we go now?"

"We should go now and stay there until we run out of energy." Given that they hardly had any energy, that shouldn't be long. If that was all he needed to distract Nowaki, he'd do it.

"If you say so Hiro-san."

His eyes narrowed and he tried to think of a way to keep Nowaki from inspecting Misaki. His plan involved running him until he passed out from fatigue, then maybe rushing ahead to let Misaki know about his intentions. While he wasn't sure if Usagi was in on the plan or not, he assumed either way he wouldn't be able to include him in his plan. He'd have to rely on Misaki and the entirety of his train to keep the secret, but getting around the council was going to be difficult. As of now he hadn't worked out all of the details, but he had to delay the inspection and think of a plan.

The two of them made their way to the training grounds, now vacant due to everyone turning in for the night. Both of them selected their weapons and attempted to start up a sparring match.

While both of their techniques were sloppy, they did manage to get in close to an hour. Hiro, as much as he didn't want to admit it, ran out of energy first. Nowaki managed to notice, but he didn't want to point it out. "Hiro-san, I think I'm done for now. I'm sorry, I couldn't match you."

The trainer panted, but was at least happy to have his pride intact. "That's fine, you did well." At that, he staggered over and stored his weapon, then started making his way back to his room. "Come." He said simply.

Nowaki followed, looking bewildered. "Where are we going now?"

"My room."

"Um, for what reason?"

"Sleeping."

"What?" He could hardly believe what he heard. "As in, sleeping together?"

"I've only got one bed, so yeah."

Nowaki immediately went silent, trying to process what just happened. He couldn't tell if this was a great opportunity, or something innocuous, or maybe a mix of the two. Either way, he wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to sleep with, or at least next to, the man he idolized.

Somehow the two of them made it to Hiro's room, and neither of them had the energy to proceed with anything. Under normal circumstances, Hiro would insist that no one enter this room. Yet, here he was with the medic that seemed to idolize him, in his room, walking toward his bed with no objections. He just rationed that the fatigue of searching for days and the threat of having their secret found out made him complacent.

"Is it really okay if we sleep together like this?" The only partially bewildered Nowaki asked.

"It's fine. Get in." His reply was to the point. Already he had fallen forward, too tired to even get undressed. Not to mention, if Nowaki was close, Hiro would be able to thwart his movement easier. Also, if Nowaki tried to sneak out during the night, he would wake up and stop him.

"Are you really sure about it Hiro-san?"

"JUST GET IN."

"Okay."

Already Hiro was starting to lose consciousness, and he couldn't be bothered to put up with any sort of shenanigan. His eyes felt heavy and burned with fatigue, so falling asleep was the only thing on his mind right now.

The sound of ruffling cloth could be heard, and shortly after Nowaki joined him in bed. "I think you would sleep better if you got out of these clothes." He said, with his throat suddenly feeling dry. He reached around then, and started undoing Hiroki's belts.

"Mmm, hey-" He tried complaining, but couldn't muster the energy to protest further. Nowaki continued, at an unbelievably slow pace, and removed more and more of the trainer's clothing. Eventually he was left bare-chested and in his smallclothes, and yet he didn't even bother to stop it. Actually, the feel of the clean sheets on his bare skin reflecting his heat back at him was wonderfully relaxing. He could easily let himself be lulled in this state.

Nowaki joined him, equally under dressed. He laid himself out and faced away from his trainer, feeling conflicted. It took most of his willpower to not wrap himself around the smaller man sleeping next to him, but he knew that sort of action wouldn't be appreciated. Instead he fell asleep with the contentment of knowing that the cold, standoffish trainer had at least accepted him enough to allow him to get close. That's more than could be said for his relationship with anyone else, even the princess. Though, through his observation, he had been able to figured out where Kamijou's affections were. The thought of that made him despondent, but he was still glad to be trusted enough to be close like this.

With a slight grin, he was able to fall into a deep sleep next to his trainer.


	19. Return to Form

A/N: I'd like to thank you for your continued support and viewership Dorito! I have to clarify somethings, the person who bought Misaki in the first place was the archer who was supposed to shoot him on the wedding day. The only reason he wanted to buy Misaki was so he could delay the wedding and escape, which he did. He wouldn't come back now, he's gotten away and no one will know it was him who ordered it. Though, it is a good idea. I just can't use it given the circumstances leading up to it. Sorry about that! Basically the direction is going to be going toward setting up the wedding from now on, unless I think of something to add. Also, I think I may have to lay off posting on Monday for a while, things just got real busy haha.

* * *

Misaki awoke early, jolting from his slumber from nightmares of being in the dungeon. He was able to calm down once he realised he was back in the familiar room, in a soft bed with his lover looking over him. Naturally Usagi pulled him close as a way to calm him down. "Don't worry my love, I'm here. I won't let you out of my sight ever again."

Normally the princess would protest, but now he figured it wasn't so bad to be watched over by someone who cared deeply for him. So instead of getting indignant, he just relaxed and uttered a meek, "Thank you." The feeling of security was almost overwhelming, he bit his lip to bite back tears.

"Misaki." The older prince pulled his wife close and gently stroked his hair. His face was darkened with fatigue and even his voice sounded a little raspy. The princess finally noticed and started feeling guilty for putting him through that.

"I'm sorry…" He said, almost ready to cry.

"Don't apologise, you did nothing wrong." He tightened his grip on his lover then, but his resolve was fading as the fatigue of the last few days finally caught up with him. "If anything, I should apologise for failing to protect you."

"Don't blame yourself, I don't think this could have been avoided…"

"Well it won't happen again…" He said decisively, despite his fatigue. "I will personally crush anyone who gets near you from now on, with the power of my army if need be."

"Now now, there's no need of acting like that…"

"I'll tie them up and gut them like a pig."

"That's- highly unnecessary."

"I already ordered the production of twenty new iron maidens."

"I think you're taking this a little too far. I'm fine, we don't need to go torturing anyone who comes near me."

"I think I'm being exceedingly generous in that I'm not executing anyone who'd dare look your way." He said in a pouty voice.

"Yeah, but you can't abuse your power as the king, that's not a good way to earn your citizens' trust…"

"Heh, listen to you, acting all mature." His grip loosened then, and he started to feel dizzy.

Misaki sighed then. "Go to sleep. You look like you haven't rested in days."

"That's only because I haven't. I'm not sleeping now either. How am I supposed to protect you if I'm asleep?"

"How can you protect me if you're sleepy and ineffectual?"

"Hmm." He said, as if trying to come up with a solution. "What to do."

"What if I stayed with the guards for a while until you're properly rested?"

"I don't trust them enough…"

"You're beating yourself up for my sake and I can't stand it!" At that the princess got a rush of adrenaline, and forced his husband to lie down with a straight armed thrust to his chest. He was still weakened from his lack of movement and bindings, but Usagi was weakened equally from fatigue. The older fell back and landed face up on the pillow. Misaki looked marginally pleased with himself. "Get some sleep! I'll let you do whatever you want after you're properly rested!"

The older prince couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "That's too good an offer to pass up on. But, I expect you to be properly guarded while I sleep." He sat up defiantly, though his imposing aura had almost completely ceased. "I'm not closing my eyes for a second until I see you in the custody of capable guards."

Misaki sighed in relief, glad that his husband wasn't going to work himself into the ground. "Should I summon my train?"

"Summon all of them, the guards, the squires, the maids, everyone."

Misaki rolled his eyes. "What exactly do you expect the maids to do?"

"They could throw their wash cloths at anyone trying to harm you and confuse them while the guards to their job."

"That sounds pretty ridiculous."

"I don't care, call them all anyway."

"Fine, fine, let me get them." He attempted to get off the bed then. His legs were initially shaky, but he was quick to get his bearings and threw on a plain, easy to get into dress. Usagi was up and following him out the door, his sleepy gaze deadlocked on his wife as they exited their room.

Their quest to herd up Misaki's train didn't last long, as most of them were around the same place. Naturally they formed up around them both and launched into questions about Misaki's health. He simply assured them that he was fine and that they needn't worry about him now that he was rescued. Instead, he got right into the deal he made with his husband, and his train was more than happy to watch over him while his husband slept. Misaki had to hold himself back from crawling into bed with his lover and cuddling him while he slept. With his train watching, it would seem highly inappropriate. Yet, he was still shaken up, and wanted greatly to seek security in his lover's arms, whether or not he was awake.

They ended up staying in their room, with Usagi sleeping and Misaki wandering around the room and stretching. He was still sore, that would probably stay with him for the next few days, but simply being able to move felt amazing. Nothing eventful happened until Kamijou came storming in suddenly. "Milady- I'm sorry, I can't keep him out any longer…"

"Huh?" He jolted out of his simple stretches, and his attention as well as terror were heightened.

"The medic, he insists on seeing you."

"Oh, no-" It wasn't as bad as he originally thought. His first instinct was that the person who wanted to buy him was here, so he was beyond relieved that he was wrong. Though, the fear came right back when he thought about the ramifications of being examined by a medic. "Kamijou-sensei, you have to find a way to keep him out."

"I can't, he's been given direct orders from the council…"

"Oh no, what do we do?"

"It gets worse, he has to check to see if you're suitable for child-bearing."

"Oh no, this is bad…" This stress was exactly what he didn't need right now. He didn't want to have to deal with the prospect of getting found out. "We have to think of something…"

"There's not a lot we can do, he's headed this way right now. Even if we shake him off, the Farrian council will discover it for themselves."

Panic surged through him, and not long after there was a cordial knock on the door. "Milady, are you in there?"

"Uhm, hold on a second!" He said, still panicking. He and his train looked around for something, anything that could get them out of the situation.

"Milady, I'm only here to do a routine examination. It doesn't hurt and it'll be over soon."

"Uh, just hold on please!"

"How long are you going to be Milady?" He asked, though his voice held no aggression or hostility. Gentle or not, he was an imminent threat, and there was no way they could just let him.

"Um, I'm still not feeling well, can you come back tomorrow?"

"If you're not feeling well, that's more reason to let me in." He stated, gradually sounding more despondent. "I can't wait until tomorrow, I'm sorry..."

The commotion continued, until everyone fell silent. The stalling had failed and everyone was out of ideas.

"I'm coming in." He said finally, and the sound of a key being inserted could be heard. Everyone panicked, but there wasn't much they could do except let him in.

Nowaki entered, and raised an eyebrow at the odd behaviour exhibited by the Taidans. "I'm not your enemy." He said with a slightly displeased look on his face. "I don't have any ill feelings toward you, I'm just here to examine the princess."

"Um, well, thank you." Misaki said, even though the colour was draining from his face.

"Nowaki- let me do it." Kamijou elected.

"Hiro-san, do you know medicine?"

"I've uh, been learning in secret."

"Hiro-san…" Honestly, Nowaki was at a loss. Everyone was acting so strangely, and he couldn't figure out why. "I'm sorry, but the council requires my report. It isn't my decision, I don't think they would trust your word."

"Um, it's just that, err, my Lord husband is feeling unusually protective of me right now, and he said he doesn't want anyone looking at me or touching me for a while." Misaki said, as it was true and also the last thing he could think of to delay this.

"Milady…" Nowaki sighed. "I'm sorry, but if I don't bring my report back soon, the council itself will show up to see why I'm dawdling."

They looked around, but eventually they had to concede. There wasn't any way out of this, and they would be totally trapped if the council made an appearance. Though, Misaki was certain that this medic would report what he learned, either way, he couldn't see himself getting out of this.

"Wait, are you here alone?" Kamijou said suddenly.

"Hiro-san?"

The military trainer turned his attention to Misaki, since they were already cornered, he figured he could at least form a deal. "If you are here alone, then we have a confession…" Misaki tensed up. Was Kamijou just going to tell him? What would that do? Either way, he gave a nod, allowing his unit to continue. "The princess- she won't be able to bear children."

Nowaki appeared taken aback by such a blatant statement. He was left confused, and didn't really know how to proceed. "Um, I'm really sorry to hear that." At that, appeared lost. He didn't know whether he should proceed with the examination anyway, or report this to the council.

"Hold on Nowaki, there's more to it than that. I have to ask you to pay attention carefully, come with us to the tactician's room." He only felt the need to change location because he wasn't sure if Akihiko already knew about Misaki or not. He had inferred that he did, but just to make sure, they would discuss this in a more secure location.

In Aikawa's room, a very tense Misaki and Kamijou turned their attention to a bewildered Nowaki. The medic remained silent as the two built up the courage to explain the situation. "This may come as a shock to you, but, we've been living a lie."

"Hiro-san?"

"No, listen. Years ago we were given a fortune by an oracle. We all misinterpreted her words."

"Wait, what do you mean?"

"We were told that Misaki would be Akihiko's ideal partner, but she didn't say in what manner. The truth is, our princess has always been incapable of bearing children." They all paused, Hiroki considered if he should just tell it straight or make up a believable dodge. "You see, Misaki was born a male."

The shock on Nowaki's face was pronounced, though he didn't seem angry. He said nothing and then Misaki continued from where his trainer left off. "We didn't want to cause tension between our countries you see, so we were going to go through with the wedding, but have a fake assassination so that it wouldn't be permanent."

"I… see…"

"Nowaki, please, you have to lie to the council for us. The peace of our nations depends on it." Hiroki added.

The medic paused for what seemed like a long time. In the end, he conceded. "Alright Hiro-san, I'll keep the secret."

Misaki sighed, what was even the point of keeping his sex a secret anymore when it seemed like half the country was already in on it? "I'm sorry I lied to you all, but, for the sake of our countries…"

"Don't worry, I understand." He said, looking sympathetic. "I won't let the council know."

"Really? Thanks, that means a lot."

Despite his warm smile, Nowaki was actually quite conflicted. "Um, well, make sure Milord Usami gets rested. I'll, um, be around if you need me."

"Thanks, you don't know what this means to us." The princess said, his voice loaded with gratitude.

"I can't thank you enough." Kamijou added.

"If it's not too much trouble, would you mind accompanying me today Hiro-san?"

"It's no problem." He said, feeling like he owed Nowaki for lying for them. "Milady- er, Milord, do you mind if I excuse myself?"

"No, by all means…"

At that, the two left. They walked in silence down the hall for some time, until the medic broke that silence. "You know, I could be executed for treason if the council finds out I'm deliberately lying to them…"

"I know, I can assure you, my gratitude knows no bounds."

"Is that so." He cast his eyes down then, looking conflicted. "Would you mind if I asked you a favour in return?"

As much as that didn't seem like something Nowaki would ask, he couldn't deny him a favour after he kept their secret. "Sure, anything."

"I want- for you to go out with me."

Hiroki stared in disbelief. That couldn't possibly mean what he thought. "Come again?"

"I like you Hiro-san, and I want you to go out with me." He paused, as if thinking about how to articulated the conclusion he just came to. "In your country, is it okay to have a relationship like that?"

The trainer stared in disbelief. "It's not really something that's supported, but-" He couldn't deny that he did have some feelings welling up. Nowaki was, tolerable enough. That was more than he could say about most of the people he dealt with. "Won't you face harsh penalties if you're caught?"

"It's worth the risk."

"What?!"

"I mean it."

He didn't want to say no, because he felt like he'd be running the risk of having Nowaki betray him and tell the council. Then again he didn't want to say yes because the request was so unexpected that he didn't know how to properly process it. "This is blackmail!" He said indignantly.

"...It's okay if you don't want to. But I'm not going to give up on you." At that he seized Hiro's hand as they progressed down the hall.

He just blushed, but at last didn't resist. His face heated up, and his heart fluttered slightly, but under no circumstances could he let the medic know.


	20. Restoration

A/N: I thought I'd be busier, but I managed to get it done anyway! Though, I might end up missing a few Monday updates here and there in the future.

* * *

Depression and exhaustion were all Misaki felt as he made his way back into his husband's room. More than anything, he needed a break. He needed to experience an extended period of time where he wasn't under stress. After the last few days and now almost getting found out again, he was at his limit. If anyone crossed him for the next while, he wasn't sure if he could control himself. Any pressure could make him snap and lose his cool, so he had to find a way to get away from responsibility for a while. Defeated, he sighed and collapsed on the bed by his sleeping husband. His train watched with anticipation, ready with questions that Misaki didn't feel like dealing with right now.

"What happened Milord? Did you manage to hold off the medic?"

"Not exactly." He said, rubbing his temples in frustration. "Somehow Kamijou-sensei managed to keep him from talking, but he knows already."

His train appeared to tense up. As far as they knew, Nowaki was the first local to learn of Misaki's secret. The princess didn't feel like explaining that Usagi and Aikawa already knew. "Do you think we'll be okay Milord?"

"Only time will tell." Either way, he sighed, as he couldn't be bothered to feel terror anymore. "Would you mind giving me some time? I'm tired." His despondent tone said all that needed to be said. He really wanted to order everyone to wait outside his room, but on the off chance Usagi woke up, he didn't want to have to justify why they were alone.

Misaki laid himself out next to his husband, who was dead asleep and unmovable. Everyone in his train picked a spot and sort of just stood around. The hours passed unbearably slowly, and after a while Misaki dismissed everyone. "Stay close, have someone within hearing distance that can alert the rest of you." He said. If his husband woke, he wanted to at least have a plan in place.

Naturally his train was only too happy to be able to move about rather than stay cramped up in the future king's bedroom. The prince and princess were left alone then, and Misaki made himself comfortable by laying his head against his lover's chest.

With all this time to think, the princess's mind wandered around to the events of the last couple of days. The harsh thoughts that entered his mind while he was alone in the darkness resurfaced, and all the feelings of inadequacy came flooding back. Why did Usagi bother going so far out of his way to bring Misaki back safely? Was it really love that motivated his actions, or was it duty? As far as the princess was concerned, Usagi was a lazy slacker that never took anything seriously. Still, he couldn't wrap his head around being the object of this man's affections. He just felt so weak and useless that he felt unworthy too.

At dusk, Usagi finally started stirring, and soon after he was awake. "Mmmm." He groaned. As his eyes opened, he immediately searched around for his wife. He sat up all too quickly, and ended up with a headache.

"Oh, you're awake." Misaki said, though a little more despondently than usual.

"Where is everyone?" He said while rubbing his temples.

"Um, things were getting kind of dull, so I sent them outside. I kind of- wanted to lie with you and I didn't want to do it with everyone watching…"

Upon hearing that comment, Usagi wrapped his arms around his wife. Apparently he was so moved by Misaki's words that he wouldn't even throw a fit at the guards for not doing their job. "I wouldn't care if they were watching."

"You shameless-!" As much as he wanted to act indignant, he couldn't muster up the energy. Relaxing slightly, he allowed himself to be cuddled without struggling.

Usagi lazily ran a hand through Misaki's hair and kissed his forehead. Judging by his soft and gentle movements, it was easy to infer that he was feeling peaceful. Misaki sighed meekly. The older prince continued stroking his wife's hair until the princess pulled away. "Wait, I have some things to tell you about what happened, you know, when I was kidnapped…"

"It's okay Misaki, I've put everyone involved to justice."

"No, I mean, when I was captured, it was my fault. I fell for trap, and when I was cornered, I couldn't defend myself, even with the sword you gave me. I couldn't do anything. It's my fault…"

"It's not your fault Misaki, like I said, I shouldn't have left you alone like that."

"If I were stronger, I wouldn't have made stay up for days looking. I wouldn't have put our countries in danger, you would be in good health…"

"Misaki." He said with a stern tone, catching the near sobbing princess off guard. The older grabbed his wife's shoulder and looked him in the eye. "No matter what happens, I will always search for you. I would do anything for you, no matter how dangerous. I love you, without you, what do I care if I'm awake or not?"

"I- I-"

"Stop blaming yourself. I'm serious." At that, he sighed. He had yet to fully recover from staying awake for days, and he didn't have the energy to say everything he wanted to say. "I don't care what the circumstances were that led to you getting captured, it's not your fault. Now that you're safe, you don't have to worry about it anymore."

Misaki completely lost control of his emotions then, and ended up burying his face in Usagi's chest and sobbing. Even he wasn't sure why he was feeling like this, and yet, his emotions were so overpowering that he couldn't suppress them any longer. For some reason he was overwhelmed with regret and shame and gratitude, mixed with multitude of others he couldn't place. He knew he was acting irrationally, but his wild emotions wouldn't let him think straight.

His hair was stroked gently while he poured out his incoherent thoughts. Eventually he got tired of crying, and fell silent. He didn't know what do now, he didn't know if he should try speaking again, so he just stayed silent. "There there, are you feeling better now?" Usagi said gently.

"I think so." At that he pushed his husband away and curled up. He was still feeling a little conflicted, but a little more relaxed. "But, right now, don't you think I look disgusting? I'm all battered, there's marks all over me."

Usagi sighed and pulled him back into a hug. "No matter what happens, I could never find you disgusting. What happened to you isn't your fault. I will always love you."

"But- but I…"

His protest was silenced by Usagi's lips. His whole body reacted by loosening up, and his tension and regret faded once more. Misaki broke the kiss first and looked away. For some reason he still felt like he was somehow inadequate, but he didn't want to leave the presence of his husband. "Um, I need to tell you something though, some of the men, they- um." He didn't know how to properly bring up the topic of getting touched by his captors. It would be painful to talk about, and he worried that Usagi might reject him after that, but he had to say it. His husband had the right to know. "I was touched, but they didn't go far enough to figure out I'm a man. I'm sorry, I couldn't do anything to stop him."

"Misaki." Usagi's voice became slightly agitated, and his expression hardened. Misaki assumed that expression was directed at him, and recoiled. "I knew about that man, the oracle showed me his face. When I first found you, he was my first target. As if I would allow someone else to touch you like that."

"Huh?" Misaki wondered how the oracle was able to show Usagi what his attacker looked like, but now he was feeling a little shy and despondent. "So, you're not mad?"

"Not at you, but I was angry. I was so furious that I couldn't think straight. I couldn't think of a punishment suitable to someone who would dare touch you like that." He sighed, not wanting to give Misaki the wrong idea. "But of course I'm not angry at you. Stop worrying, I could never hate you, and I'll never hold you accountable for things you can't control."

Usagi's soft words touched Misaki's heart, and he finally conceded. "Thank you." He was hit with an odd feeling. This man, he had become undeniably important to him, and yet he still wasn't quite sure what his relationship was. His mind still had trouble comprehending two men in a relationship like theirs. Years and years of thinking one way were being erased by the day, and yet, he didn't see it as a bad thing. He felt conflicted, sure, but it was the thrill of discovery and partnership that kept him wanting more. "Um, Usagi…"

"Hm?"

"I- Lo-" As much as he wanted to say it, he found himself unable to. Trying to say those words only made his eyes burn, and to avoid breaking down into a sobbing mess again, he held his tongue.

Of course that didn't go unnoticed by Usagi, and a sly grin appeared on his face. "What was that? I didn't quite hear you."

"It's just, um." At being unable to express his emotions in words, the princess became agitated. "It's nothing! Stop being so pushy!" He pouted slightly, but he knew his anger was unjustified.

"Are you sure it's nothing? I'm sure you were about to say something important." By now the older prince's tone had become playful, and his expression said he was feeling mischievous.

"I told you! It's not important!" He realised then that he should have known better. His stubborn and overly affectionate husband would never let this little incident go, and now it was likely Misaki would be hounded for the rest of time to say what he started to say just then. He tried to squirm away from that grasp, but he didn't get anywhere.

"You know, I don't think I've heard you say that you loved me ever. I'm starting to feel underappreciated." It was clear that he wasn't feeling underappreciated at all. He was just tormenting his wife and trying to wrest a confession from him.

"Yeah well, you know-"

"Actually, I don't. Tell me clearly." He said with a sly grin.

"Why you!" Misaki folded his arms, but he stopped trying to break out of the grip Usagi had him in. He relaxed, his faux indignation was dropped. Sure he wanted greatly to say what he was feeling, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. "I guess, I'm really happy that you came for me."

"Is that all?" Usagi said with a content grin. While it wasn't exactly what he wanted to hear, he'd accept it for now.

"Yeah, that's what I wanted to say."

"I will follow you anywhere, to ends of the earth if I have to. Would you come for me if I needed you?"

"…yes."

He kissed Misaki's forehead upon hearing that. "I'm glad."

"I don't know what I could do though. I probably wouldn't be able to find you if you went missing."

"Hmm, if anyone tried to take me from you, I would destroy them on the spot anyway."

"So what you're saying is, you wouldn't need my help…"

"I won't allow anyone to come between us is all." He released Misaki then. "Are you feeling hungry? I am."

"Yeah, kind of."

"Let's get something together."

"Okay."

Even though they were both tired, they got off the bed and made their way down to the banquet hall. Usagi assumed his wife wouldn't want to take a trip back to the place in which he was captured, so he avoided the mess hall for now. Slowly things were returning to the way they were, but it would take time to properly heal.


	21. Suspicions

With Usagi on constant watch, everyone quickly became aware of how imposing and terrifying he could be. If anyone so much as offered a smile or a cordial greeting, they'd instantly be shot down by the prince's 'off with their head' glare. His actions were so far beyond obnoxious that even his most loyal of servants were starting to complain. Surprisingly enough, Misaki only had marginal objections, at least at the beginning. He would only chastise his husband when he became overly boisterous or when his threats got out of hand and he became openly hostile. He didn't protest too adamantly though, as he still felt like he owed his husband for saving his life, and he was still in recovery and appreciated the increased security. He didn't even bother complaining about all of the physical contact he'd been subject to, as at least having a personal bodyguard on him at all times made him feel safe and cared for.

Recently though, Misaki noticed that Usagi was acting stranger and more on edge than usual. They'd be walking down the hall when suddenly his arm would be grabbed, and before he could even question what was going on, he'd be dragged at top speed in the opposite direction. Sometimes Usagi would stop dead no matter where he was, only to immediately drag Misaki into the nearest room. No matter how many times Misaki questioned these odd actions, he never received a straight answer. Even now, when things seemed calm, he couldn't manage to wrest an answer from his lover. "Are you sure there's nothing going on here?"

"Don't worry yourself. I'll take care of it."

"That sounds awfully suspicious. If there's something you need to take care of, you can ask me for help. If something going on, I'd like to know."

"It's nothing you need to concern yourself with. I'll take care of it."

"Whatever it is, I should know about it!" He was tense and worried, and not knowing what he was afraid of only made him worry more. The erratic actions of his husband led him to believe that there was an imminent threat looming over them.

A hand ruffled his hair then. "You're fine. Don't worry about it."

"How can I not worry?! If you weren't acting so strange, I wouldn't have to worry!"

Usagi leaned in and silenced his wife's complaints with a kiss. Misaki continued pouting even if he didn't have anything else to say. At least the day had been progressing normally so far, with no strange occurrences that caused Usagi to act strangely. "Anyway, how would you like to have a quick training session?" It was a not so subtle attempt to change the subject and misdirect Misaki's attention. Despite how blatant the ploy was, it worked perfectly.

"Sounds good, I could work up an appetite before lunch."

"Excellent." He replied with a sly grin.

Just as they were about to make their way to the training grounds, Usagi suddenly got that chaotic look in his eyes again. Misaki only had a split second of notice before he was pulled in the opposite direction. This time they didn't make it far, as a group of council members had suddenly appeared behind them. Usagi froze, grinding his teeth and furrowing his brow in frustration.

"You're a difficult man to catch, brother." A stoic voice calmly stated, "but you're not dodging your responsibilities this time."

Misaki turned, as did his husband, to face the owner of that voice. An imposing man stood there, looking calculating, dressed like the other members of the council. So far Misaki had only heard mentions of the council, and occasionally saw them in the meetings they had about the wedding. Before today he never had any direct interaction with the feared council, but it was easy to see why the staff here spoke of them fearfully. Suddenly he felt cold and powerless, they were much more intimidating up close. Whoever this man was, he seemed to hold some power even among the current ruling power.

Usagi's initial tension was immediately replaced with anger and resentment. Apparently now that he was cornered, he'd have to face whatever came his way head on. The princess had no idea what to expect, but clung to his husband's arm with every ounce of his strength. He tried his hardest to hide his nervousness, but he didn't do a very convincing job. Usagi retorted. "You won't always have the power you do now, what do you think will happen then?"

"Irrelevant." He responded. "You've been dodging your duties. I wouldn't have to enforce the law upon you if you followed the rules."

Usagi scoffed, and leaned in toward his wife as if to protect him. Misaki tensed and wondered what was going on here. "Misaki is recovering from a traumatic experience. There's no way I'd let you subject her to your dirty mind games."

"If she is innocent, then there's no need for mind games." He said simply. At that, he turned his attention to Misaki, who was nervous and confused as to what was going on. "So we meet at last, princess." He said, his voice flat but stern. "You will come with me."

The now terrified princess looked up to his husband then, unsure of what he should do. Usagi was noticeably angry, but eventually he spoke. "I suppose we have no choice." His eyes narrowed, and his expression was one of hatred. His attention turned back to his brother then, "Haruhiko, if you dare harm her in any way…"

"No need to worry, it is not my job to deliver punishments." At that, he gestured for Misaki to follow. As much as he didn't want to go with this man, he obeyed.

Misaki was escorted by Haruhiko to a secluded room near the dungeon. Everything about the situation made Misaki feel tense, and the atmosphere reminded him heavily of when he was kidnapped. The room they eventually stopped in was fairly cold and not very well furnished. From the dim lighting, Misaki couldn't discern the cleanliness of the wall, but he could swear that he could see bloodstains at the back. As of now he didn't know what to expect, but there wasn't any scenario in his head that ended well.

"You are probably aware of the strained relationship our countries had over the years." He said suddenly.

"Um, yes, I have heard of the turmoil." He bit his lip, unsure of where this line of questioning was going. "The purpose of the wedding is to end the strained relationship and begin a new one, one of prosperity and unity, isn't it?"

"That was the agreement. However, how can we be sure that these are your intentions?"

The princess paused, and contemplated what Haruhiko was saying. It made sense that the council would be suspicious of him, and so he was able to calm down a little. "My brother is still new to the position, and he would not want to make a powerful enemy out of a potential ally."

"So it would seem." He said, calculating. "It would be easier to take out the monarch of your enemy if you were close to him though."

"Um, well, I don't know how I can prove my intentions…" Misaki wasn't exactly a threat, until now no one had ever considered him a person of interest in this way. This was new to him, and he didn't know what the proper protocol was in dealing with situations like this.

"The council and I have met with an oracle to discuss if we could trust you or not." Upon hearing that, Misaki fell back into terror. This time he might have been caught. "We were informed that you were not dangerous on your own, but that you were hiding something from us."

"Erm, everyone has some secrets." Misaki said as a way to dodge. If the oracle had already relayed his secret, he wondered if he could get out of the corner he was backed into once again.

"That's true, but what is the nature of your secrets?" His tone became slightly more severe. "You are lucky that she said you weren't a threat, but I can't help but wonder what kind of secrets you're keeping from us."

The princess swallowed hard, and tried to appear undaunted by this accusation. Though, he wore his heart on his sleeve, and it was easy to tell that he was terrified. "I'm not a threat, so that should be fine right? Some secrets are just embarrassing personal gripes."

"Is that so?" He leaned in then, analysing the princess's movements. "If you're not a threat, I assume you won't object to being watched?"

Misaki didn't respond right away, as his throat felt dry. The fact that he hadn't been called out directly meant that he had a chance to get out of this, but he still had to proceed with caution. How would he be able to deal with being watched constantly? He took a deep breath. "You could watch me if you need to, I'm sure you'll find that I'm not doing anything suspicious."

Haruhiko raised an eyebrow, but was not deterred in the slightest. "I can at least thank you for being so compliant." He said dismissively. Whether or not Misaki agreed to it, he would be watched until the actual wedding day, and possibly beyond. "I expect you will be compliant if you are questioned by a council member in the future."

"Yes, of course."

"Very well." Haruhiko said, finally easing up a little. His demeanor became slightly less severe and his tone a little less harsh. "You are free to leave here for now. Just remember to stay in line."

"Yes, of course."

At that, Haruhiko moved back to the door, opening it and staring down Misaki critically. "You are free to go, but I will call you back if there is something I need to question you on."

"I understand, thank you." Misaki said, then slowly made his way to the door. Haruhiko said nothing as Misaki exited and made his way back to the gates. Usagi was there, looking concerned and waiting patiently for his wife to return.

"Are you okay Misaki?" He asked right away.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He said, touching his neck nervously. "It's just that, he knows we're up to something…"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Apparently he met with an oracle that said I'm hiding something." He bit his lip, thinking about how to proceed. "Um, she didn't say what the secret was, but he says he wants to keep an eye on me."

Usagi's demeanor changed to one of annoyance then. "He's only looking to steal you from me." His eyes flared, and he continued. "He's always trying to steal things from me, my position, and now you…"

"Um, I don't think that's the reason." Misaki said, feeling defeated. More than anything, he wanted to get away from this high tension and relax for a while. At that, he was pulled into a hug, and he managed to hear the heavy sigh of his husband. "Um, what do you mean he's been trying to steal your position, you mean the throne?"

"More or less. He always thought I was unfit to rule, and claimed that he should be the rightful heir…"

Suddenly something clicked in Misaki's head. That councilman did call Usagi 'brother' earlier, and only now did he realise that he was speaking truthfully. "By the way," the princess said, unsure if he should ask the question on his mind or not, "why did that councilman call you 'brother' earlier?" He had to make sure, it just seemed so surreal to him that he needed to confirm it for himself.

The older prince sighed. "He's actually my half brother. A bastard child of one of my father's mistresses. He's also older than me, and he's never hid the fact that he feels entitled to the throne."

This came as shocking news to the princess. Honestly he didn't know how to properly respond.

"I won't let him get to you, my love."

"Yeah yeah, I know you won't." His tension was eased again and he leaned into his husband's chest. For now he wondered how he'd be able to enact his plan to completion under the watchful eye of the council. It would take some proper planning to be able to pull off a trick like that without the council finding out what they were up to, so he'd be sure to speak with Aikawa later, when he felt a little safer.


	22. Foiled for Now

A/N: To Dorito, I'm thinking this story will end soon, so there's probably not going to be any new plot threads going on, sorry. There will be another lemon coming up in like, 2, maybe 3 more chapters I think. I'm also wondering if I should give more time to the side parings, but I'm thinking I'll just work on bringing it to its conclusion. To SuzikiChiyeko, I was worried that the lemon would have been rapey too haha, but that's usually how they go in the source material, so I wanted to stay faithful to it. Also that Idea about Akihiko having to fake his own death, I like it haha. It's very Shakespeare-esque.

* * *

Days passed and the two princes found their rhythm again. While Usagi had become absurdly protective, they both seemed to adapt and they carried on their lives as if everything was normal. Naturally, with the princess safely back, the council had begun hounding them to get on with the wedding already. With Haruhiko keeping watch, they couldn't stray too far from the schedule. Usagi protested adamantly, but eventually even he couldn't hold off his council and the date had been reset. Time passed quickly, and the date was nearly upon them.

"I don't know about you, but I really think we should go over the wedding proceedings, you know, so that we can all practice the shot."

"I'm having second thoughts about going through with this plan of yours." Usagi said with his arms folded. "I don't want to have you shot, I don't care how skilled your archer is. The thought of you getting hurt is too much for me to bear."

"Really now, so what's your solution?" A very pouty Misaki said. He was worried and didn't want to go through with getting shot either, but he knew it had to be done in order to maintain the peace.

"My solution is to marry you, and then that's it." Usagi said with a shrug.

"Explain to me how that's going to work? You won't be able to keep making up excuses for why you haven't produced an heir forever."

"When I get married, I will have all the authority of the king." He replied nonchalantly. "So I'll just make a rule that says I can marry whoever I want and make producing heirs optional."

Misaki sighed, and felt like he was talking to an over-entitled child. "Just because you'll have the authority of a king doesn't mean you can just do whatever you want. Haven't you ever heard of violent revolutions?"

"No one's going to revolt against me. I'll be a very gracious king." Apparently he wasn't taking the conversation seriously, and continued, "everyone will live such an easy life that they'd never think of overthrowing me."

With a sigh of frustration, Misaki retorted, "so who's going to succeed you?"

"Who knows, the council can figure that out when I'm dead. Until then, I'm not going to even entertain the idea of being with anyone other than you."

"Stop acting so immature. You've got a country to think about."

"The country would mean nothing to me without you."

"Talking like that is dangerous!" Usagi's blatant disregard for his position made Misaki visibly agitated. "Start acting more like a king!"

"Would that make you happy?"

After a long sigh, Misaki conceded, knowing they wouldn't make any progress otherwise. "Yes, if you started acting like a proper king, I'd be very impressed."

"Oh?" His expression became a little more attentive and playful at that comment. "Do you find authority sexy?"

Misaki huffed. "NO! I just think, it would be more attractive if you started taking your position seriously instead of acting like a kid all the time!"

"Attractive, you say." Upon hearing that said back to him, Misaki tensed. He knew an attack was imminent, but he couldn't move fast enough to dodge it. Seconds later he was hauled into a hug and his neck was nuzzled and assaulted with kisses.

"Stop! We're in the middle of the hall!" He said while squirming. It would be beyond embarrassing if someone saw this.

"You can't expect me to hold back after you said something so cute."

"This isn't being very king-ly! Show some self-control!"

"Maybe later." He said plainly.

Usagi continued to aggravate Misaki until a somewhat bewildered Kamijou appeared. He remained silent at first, until the scene before him became too annoying. "HEY!" He shouted suddenly, causing the princess to leap up and the prince to look casually in his direction. At being acknowledged, he cleared his throat and continued. "I have news for the princess."

"Oh? Speak." Misaki said, still struggling to get out of Usagi's grasp.

"Akira is missing, or at least, he's been out of sight for the last few days."

"Really?" Misaki thought about that. The archer trained to shoot him suddenly disappearing before the wedding made sense, given the immense pressure of the act, but he seriously hoped he didn't run away out of cowardice. Their whole plan was contingent on that one archer making a believable shot.

"We've searched the castle grounds, we haven't been able to find him."

"This isn't good."

"I'm not worried." Usagi interjected. "Who is this Akira anyway?"

"Um, he's an archer in my train." He didn't want to get into it with Kamijou listening, as he didn't want to explain that Usagi already knew the plan. "He's kind of an important unit, so we should probably find him."

Usagi's face dropped. "I think we should just let him stay missing. Being down one unit isn't going to hurt you."

The princess scoffed, but turned his attention back to Kamijou. "Scout out the nearby towns, see if he's slacking off in an inn or something."

"Yes Milady." He said, then bowed his head briefly and left.

Misaki sighed, but somehow managed to break out of Usagi's grip at some point during Hiro's misdirection. "This is going to be bad. If we can't find Akira, then our plan…"

"We could always just forego the part where you get shot and live a happy life together." The older prince said lamely.

"Stop entertaining that idea! You know that can't happen!" Misaki felt his own mood drop after saying that. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he too wanted to stay in this country as Usagi's wife. He would even deal with wearing a dress and acting feminine if that's what it took, but he had to face reality and accept that he was a prince, and had a duty to fulfill. "Wouldn't you rather have someone who knows what they're doing when they shoot me?"

"We've been over this." He replied in a deadpanned timber. "I don't like your plan at all, I don't like the part where you get hurt, and I can't accept the fact that we won't be together afterwards. We need to make a better plan in which none of that happens."

The princess rolled his eyes, knowing that trying to get through to his stubborn husband would be near impossible. "You know that sometimes you have to do things you don't want to right? That's life, that's what it means to be an adult."

"I'm tired of doing things I don't want to." He pouted. "I'm the king, I should be able to do whatever I want."

"Yeah well, sometimes…" Suddenly he became tired of arguing this point and changed the subject. "Whatever, just, you should help in the search for Akira. Or we'll have to find a replacement."

"That could get troublesome." Usagi conceded. "Even if I find this guy, that doesn't mean I'm going to like it."

"That's fine. But maybe just send out your search team to look for him. If he's around, I'm sure he'll be easy to find."

"Hmm, I'll order a search later. I'm not in the mood to work at anything right now."

Misaki narrowed his eyes in disbelief. Once more he made the comparison between his husband and his brother in terms of their attitude toward their responsibilities. It made him wish his husband could be a little more serious at times, and a little less doting and affectionate at others. "Fine fine. Get on it soon though please. I don't want to have my own train have to work twice as hard because you're too lazy to even order a search."

He chuckled then, and scooped up his princess in his arms suddenly. "I've decided on ordering the search after I make love to you."

Such a blatant declaration made Misaki infuriated, as usual. "Hey!"

The older prince leaned in and kissed his wife's forehead. "If we do it quickly, I'll be able to order a search sooner."

Misaki just sighed and gave in. He knew all too well how pointless it was to try to reason with his husband, especially when he was aroused. At least his husband gave a quantifiable time frame for taking action, so he'd deal with his desires until then.

-Later-

The search teams of both houses turned up at the end of the day with no more information on the archer's whereabouts. A despondent Misaki and an indifferent Usagi exited the grand hall. While the princess was already contemplating what to do, Usagi seemed completely nonchalant about the whole thing.

"This is bad. What to do..."

"Eh, stop worrying."

"I need to send word to my brother, maybe he can think of a solution."

"Do you really want to trouble him?"

"He'll have to know, the plan can't continue without a marksman of considerable skill."

"If you're really worried, we could call upon one of my archers."

"Just how many people have to know about me!?"

"Hmm." He said with a shrug. "Well, if it really comes down to it, and a replacement archer can't get here in time, what other option would we have?" He sighed at that. "Honestly, if we have to go through with this ridiculous plan, I want to make sure you make it out with a minimal amount of damage."

"So do I." Misaki said flatly. "Except we need to at least create the illusion of an assassination without allowing the archer to be caught and executed."

They both sighed, and wondered if they should turn in for the night. It was only dusk, so there was still some time, but the search had robbed them of their enthusiasm. The natural buzz of activity and the speculation on the upcoming wedding was also draining, and with the added layer of stress and worry, Misaki wondered if he could retreat from his responsibilities for a while.

Noticing how defeated his wife looked, Usagi elected to help him out any way he could. With a sigh, he started speaking. "If it'll make you feel better, I could assemble all of my archers and hold a competition to see which of them is the best, and if one of them is skilled enough, I could have them be the replacement."

"There's still the problem of telling them the plan though." There wouldn't be any other way to get the point across. How could they possibly explain to the archer that they needed him to shoot the princess with a poison tipped arrow without letting him know the reason for it? Misaki pouted, as letting yet another person know all about his identity would only create another liability. At any point, if the council found out, who knows what kind of conflict could arise from that? "But, I guess that's all we can do if we can't find Akira." With the wedding date rapidly approaching, it might be their only hope. It was risky, but it needed to be done. None of the other units in his train were skilled enough to pull off a shot like that, and he certainly didn't want to cause unnecessary stress.

"If you don't mind me asking, isn't Hiroki trained in the use of a bow?"

"He is, but his proficiency with the bow is only rudimentary. He's much better at teaching archery than executing it."

"I see." He said with a shrug. "If we don't find him by the end of tomorrow, we'll hold a competition for archers, how's that?"

"I find that acceptable. But, won't we need a reason for it?"

"I'll summon Aikawa and we'll talk it over tomorrow during the search." At that he ran a hand through his hair in exasperation. "Just know I'm only doing this to put your mind at ease. I don't approve of this in the slightest."

"Thank you for your understanding."

"Are you going to reward me?" His tone suddenly became sleazy, and his mood changed completely.

Naturally, Misaki's attitude instantly changed. "You pervert! Aren't you satisfied from earlier?!"

"Of course not." His arms wrapped around his wife and his lips ran along his neck. "You should know by now that I always want you."

Misaki just rolled his eyes and allowed himself to be touched. "If you want to keep this up, can't we at least do it in our room? Why do you always have to do this out in the open?"

"I only do it because I want everyone know who you belong to. But since you asked so nicely, I can take you to bed." He replied with a broad grin. After that he scooped his wife up as he did earlier and dragged him back to their room.


	23. Replacement

A/N: It's a little dry for the next two chapters, sorry about that.

* * *

Naturally the archer tasked with pulling off the fake execution was nowhere to be found. The entirety of the castle grounds as well as the neighbouring cities was searched extensively by the subordinates of both houses, and yet there was no sign of him anywhere. Misaki had to accept that fact, and abruptly sent a letter to his brother regarding the matter. Since it would take a few days to reach him, in the meantime, they had sent word to all of the capable archers under Usagi's house. A contest would be held to determine which of them was the most skilled, and even though there was no mention of a reward, it seemed like the title alone was enough to attract attention. Of course Aikawa explained in her summons that the winner would then inherit a job that only he would be able to perform, and that only seemed to generate even more interest and ignited the competitive spirit in the recruits.

On the day of the contest, archers young and old stood strong before their prince, his tactician and his wife. While they didn't know why they had been summoned to the training grounds, they did seem to have an air of excitement about them. With the wedding coming up and nothing particularly important going on, most of them had assumed that they'd be tasked with defending the wedding, or perhaps performing at it. Their prince stared them down briefly, while they remained patient and motionless, and then began speaking.

"I have summoned you all here to test your skill with the bow." It was fairly routine to test the units on their weapon proficiency, but it usually wasn't done directly by the royals. Normally it was assessed by the higher ups in the army, or the tactician. Being addressed directly by the prince made it seem all the more important, and it sparked nervousness as well as excitement. "I have a special job ready for the archer who displays the most skill, but only if that skill is up to the standard." His disinterested gazed moved around, as if he were sizing up each individually. "Are you all prepared?"

"Yes sir!" Came their reply.

"Good." His expression was unusually severe, and it easily conveyed to the units that he wouldn't tolerate anyone slacking or not taking this seriously. No one knew why he was suddenly so focussed, but no one would dare question him while he was this serious either. His attention turned to Aikawa then. "Please, show them to the course you set up."

"Of course Milord." She said, then directed the archers away. Usagi and Misaki lazily followed.

"You know," Misaki whispered as they assumed their spectating positions, "skill level won't matter if they end up telling on me. Did you take that into account?"

"Aikawa mentioned that actually. She'll disqualify anyone who she considers a threat." He shrugged. "But you know, we don't even have to tell the winner that you're a man, just that he has to pretend to kill you."

The princess breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that he could count on the ever diligent tactician to make the right decision, and that his sex could remain on a need to know basis. At least there was a responsible person present who could be relied on, so Misaki could relax a little and put his faith in her.

For now the training grounds had been completely converted into a course specifically for the archers, everyone else would have to train elsewhere. Aikawa briefly explained the rules of the contest, and once everyone was in position, she gave the order to start. "Alright everyone! Take Aim." She directed them through the exercises and they all tired their hardest to keep up with her demands. The day progressed and the contestants were cut if they couldn't make their shots and the group of archers became smaller. By the end, only a few of the most skilled remained.

"Not bad, well done in making it this far." She said contemplatively. "There's only one thing left to see which, if any of you is qualified to carry out the mission." She gestured for everyone to follow. "Everyone head to the volcano, your last test will take place there."

She as well as the two princes joined the archers on their trip to the volcano. Misaki suddenly became worried, and of course his husband was there to reassure him. "You're not going to be the target, I wouldn't allow that. We have a target set up there that will take your place for now."

"Are you sure it's the same thing though?" Misaki wondered if a still target would accurately replicate the circumstances of the wedding. Naturally he'd have to shoot without killing the target, and also he'd have to do it without being seen. Considering this would be a royal wedding, there would no doubt be spectators from both of their countries as well as officials from allied countries present. The massive crowds would definitely make pulling off a difficult shot nearly impossible.

"This is just the first part of the test, we will continue to train the winner to make sure he doesn't mess up." It was subtle, but Misaki could hear a hint of contempt in his voice. The princess felt a pang of sympathy for the poor, unfortunate archer who won, no doubt he'd be in for a punishing journey.

"I see." Misaki mumbled. The look on Usagi's face said that he wasn't too pleased with this whole ordeal either, and his tense body language suggested he was in a constant state of agitation. He fell silent then, not wanting to dampen Usagi's mood further. It worried him even more to think of what might happen to the poor unfortunate winner of this competition should he mess up the shot. He shuddered upon the speculation of what Usagi might order as punishment.

The volcano wasn't too far off, and had been inactive for years. With only the elite left, Misaki watched, wide eyed, as Aikawa explained the task ahead of them. Since the princess wasn't particularly skilled with a bow, what she was asking of them seemed impossible, but the remaining archers appeared unflinching at the prospect of making such absurdly difficult shots. He watched with awe as one by one, they performed incredible feats of strength and accuracy, with a few of them missing the target my millimeters. Aikawa was quick to dismiss anyone who missed the shot, no matter how small the margin, and eventually they had their champion.

The winning archer looked incredibly young, with a baby face and youthful physique. His small frame didn't appear to fit his strength and his innocent face implied inexperience. Despite how unfit he looked for the job, his skills spoke for themselves. No matter what conditions Aikawa set, he met and exceeded her expectations. By the end of the competition, he'd even gotten so bold as to show off, spinning and twirling the arrow before firing it without hesitation. The three approached him after dismissing all of the others, with Aikawa beaming with delight.

"Congratulations!" She said, obviously elated that one of the archers lived up to her expectation. "You have proven that you have what it takes to pull off a super important task for your country! What is your name, Mr. proficient archer?"

"…Shinobu Takatsuki." He said simply, not bothering to meet her eyes.

"Well, congratulations Shinobu! Are you prepared to take on the task befitting your abilities?"

He turned his attention directly to Usagi then, and stared him down with piercing determination. "I will complete whatever task you have for me, on one condition." He said without a hint of hesitation. The tactician and princess were visibly shocked by the temerity of making demands of their king.

Usagi kept his stern, sharp gaze and refused to waver. "What would this condition be?"

"…I want to train under You Miyagi."

Everyone raised an eyebrow at such a strange request. Even Usagi was taken aback, as he expected massive extortion, or a demand for power. This was something so seemingly inconsequential that he wondered if there was some kind of ulterior motive behind it. "Is that all?" He said in a slightly confused, slightly suspicious tone. He also glanced over to Misaki, since You Miyagi was a unit in his train and he'd have the final say in complying with the demand.

"Yes." He spoke decisively and without hesitation. His expression was one of unwavering devotion and showed no signs of deceit.

"Misaki, what do you think of his request?"

"Um, it seems fine to me. I'll ask Miyagi-sensei what he thinks about it…"

"Could you ask him now?" The ever eager Shinobu said flatly.

"Err, sure." The princess cleared his throat and gestured for Usagi to follow. Overall, he was in a good mood though, as at least he knew the archer tasked with shooting him at least had the ability to pull it off. Now all he had to worry about was the actual execution of the plan, and of course avoiding the suspicion of the council.

Miyagi wasn't too hard to track down, he'd been hanging around with the local military trainers and they had been making passive aggressive jabs at each other regarding which of their combat styles were more effective. Their playful banter ceased when the two royals appeared, and their attention was given fully to the monarchs before them.

Misaki cleared his throat and began speaking. "Miyagi-sensei, um, I request your presence."

"Ha?" He shrugged then, and hoped he wasn't going to be disciplined. "Of course Milady." He stood, and followed them back to the volcano, not knowing what awaited him.

Shinobu and Aikawa were still there, waiting eagerly. The archer's eyes moved up, and he briefly sized up the group approaching. "I've brought him." Misaki declared. "Miyagi-sensei, please listen to the wishes of this archer, he requests your services."

He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at such a strange request, but he listened. Shinobu cast his eyes to the side and spoke. "I want to be trained by you." He said simply.

"Hm? What brought this on?"

"Ah, well, it kind of works out." Misaki said with a sort of comical look about him. "We weren't able to find the other archer you trained, so this one is taking his place."

"I don't know what they're planning, but I must absolutely be trained by you." Shinobu said decisively.

Upon hearing Misaki's explanation, he understood. "Fine, fine. But why this greenhorn little brat? Shouldn't we give that job to someone who knows what they're doing?" His condescension was blatant in every syllable. Naturally the archer wasn't pleased with such dismissal, especially of his overwhelming abilities.

"Do I need to prove my skill further? I'll do it as long as it takes." He interjected.

"He's way more talented than he looks." Aikawa interjected with a smile. "I'd be surprised if you were as good as him." Her tone held a little condescension too, but she didn't' even bother trying to hide it.

Miyagi took a deep breath and sighed heavily. "Fine, if it what milady orders." He shrugged, it was clear that he wasn't taking his new student seriously. "I'll have you show off your skill later on, once you're briefed on the mission. If that is all, I will take my leave."

From that point, Misaki and Aikawa explained the situation to Shinobu, who appeared completely unfazed by this information. His goal was achieved, and he didn't have much interest in the bizarre politics at work. He'd have no problem keeping the mission a secret, as he'd have no reason to ever talk about it. His mind had been set on working with Miyagi, and the only reason why he even bothered to take on this task was to get close to him. With that accomplished, he'd do whatever it took to keep the trainer in his grasp.


	24. Interregnum

An arrow pierced the air and landed squarely on the ankle of the practice dummy. It was the fourth one in a row to hit below the knee. While the goal was to hit the torso, it seemed like the archer was intentionally aiming low. Compared to what he was able to pull off before, it almost seemed like he was intentionally missing his shots.

"Not bad, but aim higher. You'll only get her feet with that angle."

"I don't see why that's a problem, we're coating the arrows with poison anyway, just say she died from that."

"Yes, but the whole purpose of this exercise is to convince everyone that the princess was killed upon impact. We need to be able to get her out of sight before anyone figures out what's going on." He was condescending to Shinobu, even after seeing his skill first hand. Just based off of his age, he still refused to acknowledge someone's skill that he deemed young and inexperienced. Though, these recent few shots had him questioning if he won the contest by a fluke.

"My way is better, there's less chance of something going wrong and one of her vital organs being pierced." He stated calmly. "Just drag her away and tell everyone that the arrow was coated in poison, then it wouldn't matter where I hit her."

Miyagi sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair. "This is why I hate dealing with brats. They always think they know better than everyone else." His sharp gaze fixed squarely on Shinobu, who appeared unwavering in his stance. "You have the talent to pull off a shot like that anyway, so why not just do it?"

He hesitated. "The prince will kill me if I mess up." His tone make it impossible to tell if he was lying or not, and his expression remained too unreadable to garner any information from.

"You should have known that before you accepted the job." He said with a slight sigh. "Try again, just aim for the torso."

Shinobu conceded silently, and raised his bow. He said nothing as he took aim, and his focus didn't waver as he released the arrow. Once it connected with the target, it was easy to tell it was a direct heart shot. The archer sighed, as if he knew that would happen. Years of perfecting his craft made it almost impossible for him to miss heart and head shots. Finding a way around his innate ability to make killing shots would be much more difficult than he originally thought. His annoyance and displeasure was apparent.

Miyagi noticed too, and was only slightly unsure of what to make of this development. "Maybe don't go for the heart next time." He said partially snidely and partially in an annoyed tone. Was this kid doing this on purpose? It was hard to tell, but he took it as an act of defiance anyway.

"Don't you think I'm trying? Do you think I want to get your princess in the heart?" The sudden flare of anger surprised them both, but he wouldn't apologise for letting it out.

"Just don't get the heart, you can pull it off."

"It's force of habit." Shinobu said in a sort of humble brag. "I was trained to hit heart shots, it's like second nature for me."

The trainer growled lowly, put off by this boy's arrogance. "I'm sure you have the skill to hit another target right? Just aim lower and don't hit the heart."

"That's exactly why we should aim much lower, like at her legs or feet. I might accidently shoot her heart, it's usually what I do."

"Just try again." He replied dismissively.

Shinobu sighed and readied another arrow. This time he focussed all of his attention on making the shot. For some reason it was much more difficult to make a non-lethal shot. Once he fired, he was pleased to see it hit below the ribcage. "How's that?"

"She's very likely to die if you hit her in the stomach, only slowly and painfully instead of instantly."

The archer's anger flared again. "The torso is full of areas like that, no matter where I hit, there's bound to be an organ that gets punctured. This is exactly why we should aim lower!"

"Why don't you try shooting her in the arm then? That could work."

By now he was under the impression that his trainer was just making up the rules as he went along. That was fine, he'd prove himself if it took all day. An arm shot would be easy, and so he barely concentrated this time, instead going for speed rather than accuracy. He let his arrow fly, and turned a defiant face back to his trainer before it hit its target.

The arrow connected with the shoulder. Shinobu continued staring down Miyagi then, as if daring him to find fault in his shot. He didn't even need to look to know it connected. To his surprise, he seemed pleased. "Yes, I think this is what we will go with."

"Seriously?" The archer said, feeling his own pride well up.

"Given the situation, I think this will be the best course of action." He waved his hand dismissively then. "You're free to go, training has ended early."

"No!" He said before thinking, more forcefully than intended. "I mean, we should keep practicing…"

"Why?" His expression said he wanted nothing more than to end this session and do anything else.

"I just, want to spend more time with you, and if I have to train to do that, then I'll keep training."

His answer made little sense to Miyagi. Then again, now that he thought about it, this boy had asked to be trained specifically by him. Sure he was confident in his skills as a military trainer, but he never seen himself as someone anyone could look up to. Besides that, this kid just said he wanted to spend time with him, and that training was just a ploy to make that happen. How was he supposed to take this new information? "Why though?" Was all he could manage to articulate.

"Because I love you." He said without hesitation.

"Huh?" The direct bluntness of that answer caught him so off guard that he questioned whether or not he heard that correctly. He was now even more confused by such an out of the blue statement that he wondered if he was being messed with.

"I suppose you don't remember-" Shinobu started, "when you first arrived here, I was being hassled by bandits. I didn't have my bow with me, I couldn't defend myself." He turned his gaze away then, and refused to meet his trainer's eyes with such a despondent look on his face. "But then you showed up and drove them all off. At that moment, I realised that I loved you, and I'd do anything to see you again."

"Haa?" Unbelievable. He couldn't even begin to put together what he felt about hearing something so absurd, but he did know he wasn't impressed with such a confession in the slightest. So he sighed and tried to talk some sense into the boy he was training. "You see, this another reason why I hate dealing with brats. They say such absurd things like this and think it means something."

"I'm not a brat, and I'm not wrong about my feelings."

"You're too young to understand something as complex as love." He said dismissively. "And you're too young for me anyway, and need I remind you that we're both men?"

"I don't care about that." He retorted. "I've already decided that you're the only one I want."

"That's an extremely immature outlook on adult relationships, as expected from an immature brat like you." By now he couldn't believe he was even entertaining this kid's bizarre ramblings, yet for some reason he didn't just walk away. "Did you forget the part about us being men? How do you plan on dealing with that little detail?"

"…I don't care about that, or about the laws prohibiting that, or what anyone might think, I love you."

He sighed. Apparently there was just no getting through to this kid, so the only thing he could think of was to make him regret those words. "You know what? Fine. I'm feeling generous today, so I'll stay with you a little longer."

"…Really?"

"Yeah, aren't you lucky?" His tone and expression said he wasn't taking this seriously, but since he had nothing better to do, he supposed he could humour the greenhorn archer a little. "But I'm not going easy on you. Get that bow up."

Shinobu complied, and awaited instruction. Though he had a neutral expression on his face, he was actually bursting with excitement.

The training session continued for hours, until it ended at dusk. Both of them didn't notice the figure at the bottom of the volcano, neither of them suspected they were being watched.


	25. Three More Days

Misaki sat in his husband's room, avoiding the prying questions of the maids. With the wedding so close, everyone seemed to have their nose in his business, he was tired of answering questions and he was tired of all the pressure. So for now he'd commit himself to the solitude of those four walls. A little break would only do him some good.

Though, he didn't get the solitude he desired for long, as his husband was quick to join him. Apparently he was having the same problem, but he grinned with delight as soon as she saw his wife. "There you are."

"Yeah, I've been here most of the day." He said dismissively.

"Escaping the maids and the council?"

"Yeah, pretty much." He had hardly gotten those words out before he was tackled down by his husband. "What are you doing?!"

"The wedding is set to happen four days from now." He explained, while running his lips along his lover's neck. His hands wandered, picking out and pulling at ribbons that held that annoying dress in place. "After tomorrow I won't be allowed to see you until we meet at the volcano."

"Kuh-" A small noise escaped the princess as he tried to process what was going on in his husband's mind. "So now-"

He didn't even bother explaining his intentions, as his actions would speak for him. His lips pressed against his lover's as his skillful hands untied every offending string and binding keeping the dress on. His tongue invaded while the dress came loose, and despite knowing exactly what was going on, Misaki made no move to protest.

Usagi loomed over him with a look that said he was already lost to his lust. "I'm going to ravish you for the rest of the day."

"Wait a second, that's a little excessive."

"I won't be able to do it again for three days."

"That's not so long…"

"Three days-"

"You can hold off-"

"THREE DAYS." He said, finally dismissing the uke's complaints. "I need to use what little time we have, to make sure we're both satisfied enough to endure a three day dry spell."

"You pervert!" He was going to protest further, but his rant was cut short by sweet, suckling lips once more. Eventually he relaxed, as he body had long since given up on protesting. He was carried to his bed, and his proficient pervert of a husband wasted no time in stripping him of his dress with no hints of finesse or romance. His hormones were running rampant and he couldn't be bothered to start slow.

Their skin touched, Usagi pulled his wife into a rough, passionate kiss while his hands wandered. Misaki purred and clung to his husband's shoulders in secret delight. The moment didn't last long, as the princess was hauled onto his husbands lap. They both fell back then, with the princess laying on top. "Misaki, move up for me."

At first the princess didn't know what he meant by that, and hesitated. Though, his impatient husband wasn't having that, and grabbed him around the waist and pulled him up so that he was sitting on his chest. Misaki was left confused, and Usagi gave him a sly grin.

"Move your hips up so I can taste you." He demanded, licking his lips.

Misaki shifted his hips so that his erection was nearly eye level with his husband. Usagi smirked before grabbing both of his wife's ass cheeks and hauled him forward, taking the entirety of that length in his mouth. The princess yelped in surprise and braced himself up with his arms while he straddled his husband's face.

Usagi sucked at the shaft while his hands squeezed those meaty cheeks of his lover's ass. Misaki shook and subconsciously moved his hips, fucking his husband's willing mouth. He felt a tongue wrap and slither against him, and let out a few low mewls of approval. Immediately Usagi knew his princess was holding his voice back, and so forced a moan out of him by playfully fingering his entrance. He jolted, forcing his cock further into his husband's mouth while unwillingly crying out. His eyes shut and he ground his teeth together to avoid making more noise. Another finger slipped inside him then, plunging in deep and wresting his moans of pleasure from his throat. Usagi tried to stifle a grin and kept his lips firmly wrapped around his lover. He sucked as if to milk his stubborn wife dry. Misaki arched as his husband brought him to completion, and he shot his load straight to the back of his lover's throat. While Misaki was spent, Usagi guided his lover out of his mouth, a sly look on his face. "Tasty." He said simply.

"Why you!" Still riding his high made it hard to protest his husband's perversion, but he was a little off put by how readily he swallowed that. He fell limply on his husband's chest, but Usagi wasn't nearly done with him.

"Suck me off now." He said, shaking his hips suggestively. There was not an ounce of modesty in his voice, only lust.

Misaki sighed, but complied. At first he got up and moved his whole body down toward his lover's hips, but apparently that wasn't exactly what his husband meant.

"Hold on." Usagi said, grabbing his lover's hips and repositioning his uke so that his crotch was positioned over his wanting lips again. "This is much better, isn't it?"

The princess just rolled his eyes and cautiously lowered his lips. This was new territory, and he was kind of wary about putting someone else's dirty dick in his mouth, but he felt like it was only fair. The unsure uke grabbed the hardened shaft and licked the tip. It tasted salty and a little strange, but he continued carefully licking, hoping that his inexperienced technique was satisfactory. Usagi purred, relishing how cute his lover was when he tried to be sexy.

"Put it in your mouth, don't just lick it." He said, more amused than anything.

Misaki groaned, feeling exceptionally embarrassed, but wrapped his lips around that hot shaft. He hesitated before moving his head, bobbing it up and down about half way along Usagi's length. He had no idea how his husband was able to take in the whole thing earlier. His own mouth could only take in so much, and he wondered if he was doing something wrong.

"Mmm." The older purred. "You're doing good, use your tongue too."

The uke closed his eyes and pressed his tongue against the hot flesh in his mouth, forcing it to the roof of his mouth. His lips closed tighter and he focussed on keeping that cock away from his teeth. He could feel it pulsing his in mouth, and abruptly increased his pace. His tiny moans were stifled by the throbbing meat in his mouth, creating a gentle vibration that drove his husband wild.

Usagi grabbed his lover's hips and forced his ass back down on his face. His tongue invaded, causing his uke to moan and shudder in response. His focus waned, but not before he felt a warm liquid pour into his mouth. He released the cock and the remaining cum splayed out on his face.

A second later, Usagi had him scooped up and started wiping up his cum off his face. "You did well. I'd love it if you did it more often."

A growl escaped the uke. "Like I'd ever want to do that again." He said defiantly.

"I would love it if you were a little more aggressive too." The older stated while cuddling his lover, running his lips against his neck.

"I'm not a pervert like you." He said in a defeated tone. As far as he was concerned, they were done for now. Before he could relax, he was lifted and carried to a tub at the back of the room. When did that get there? "Are we done? We're going to get cleaned up and get on with our day right?" Something told him there would be more to come.

"We're going to get cleaned up, but first we need to get dirty." He said with a mischievous chuckle.

"Didn't we just do that?"

"THREE DAYS." He responded, like a mantra. "Need more…"

Misaki just rolled his eyes, knowing his husband was too far gone to hold back now. They entered the water, which was only warm now, Usagi wasted no time in preparing his lover for the next round. Two fingers prodded him, Misaki barely reacted as he had already been loosened up earlier. He stopped then, and Misaki turned to see why. In an instant he saw the face of his husband clouded over with lust, and knew what was coming.

Misaki braced himself against the side of the tub, leaning out over it slightly. Two hands gripped his ass under the water. He absolutely refused to give in. His body was shaking with need, but there was no way he'd give credence to his husband's perversion and beg for it.

It felt like those fingers were digging at his insides, and he only broke his silence when he felt those fingers all move to one side. A hot appendage slid in as the fingers slipped out. "Nnn Ah!"

"Mmm." Usagi purred. "Your body is so tight, it's like it's hugging me."

"Guh-" He shuddered at the embarrassing line he was just fed. "Haa, ah!"

"Misaki-"

They ground together, moaning incoherently as the pace increased. Usagi grabbed his lover's cock and stroked him roughly with no rhythm whatsoever. His mind was too far gone, but Misaki hardly noticed. He too was lost in the haze of his hormones, electing to grind back against the force behind them. His hand covered his husbands, and the pressure in his cock became all the sweeter. "Haa, Un, Ahh!" Unhinged, incoherent moans escaped him, and he hardly cared that his voice rang out.

"Ha, Misaki-"

"Ahh! Ahh!"

Water sloshed and splashed all over the floor, but neither party seemed to care. They were too caught up in each other to notice anything else. Misaki had long since given in to the pleasure, his back arched and he cried out, clouding the water with his seed. Usagi pulled out, and his own cum slowly flowed from his lover's ass.

The strength left him and he doubled over the side of the tub, panting and gasping for breath. His eyes glazed over and his mind was blank, all thoughts clouded over with the pleasure he just felt. He could hear the motion of water pick up as his husband stood. His limp body was seized and then carried out of the water. For some reason he assumed they were done for now, and relaxed thinking he could rest.

Their naked bodies laid out on their bed, soaking the sheets. Neither seemed to notice that they didn't properly dry off, nor did they care that their bed was now soaked in marginally dirty water. Misaki might have mentioned that they didn't actually get clean, no soap had touched them, and they were both arguably more dirty than when they got in. That was fine though, they were both too caught up in the afterglow of love making to care about anything else.

Usagi snuggled his lover, apparently temporarily satisfied. His lazily kissed his wife's hair and ran his hands along his torso, smiling contentedly. "I love you." He whispered. "I love you so much Misaki, I love you." He repeated that sentiment as if in a daze. Misaki relaxed, feeling elated, but unable to say anything in response.

Time passed and the princess felt his husband's hands travelling downward, he grabbed at those wandering hands as if to stop them. "Hey!"

"We're not even close to being done. I want you all day, all night if you can manage." As if to drive his point home, he rubbed his hardened erection against Misaki's leg. How did he manage to have such ridiculous stamina?

"Are you serious? You want more?"

"THREE DAYS."

"STOP SAYING THAT! IT'S NOT THAT BIG A DEAL!" Misaki protested, but gave in. Apparently Usagi wasn't kidding when he said he wanted to do this all day.


	26. Division

A/N: The next few chapters will be a little dry, sorry about that! Also, I'm debating whether or not I'll go more into the side couples before this ends.

* * *

Misaki was sent to sleep in the tactician's room after they were through with their love making. Usagi was nice enough to massage the princess with healing balms after thoroughly pulverizing his backside all day, and that did help him sleep. When he woke, it was still early and he was still a little sore, but the knocking couldn't be ignored. So somehow he managed to stand and made his way to the door. He cleared his throat, "I'll be a minute."

"Milady! When you're decently dressed, please meet us in the grand hall!" A maid from Usagi's train said. She stayed outside the door and made no move to leave.

The princess sighed and waddled around, slowly collecting his girly trinkets and getting dressed. The slight sting in his backside made it hard to move efficiently, but somehow he managed to fit himself into his usual lung crushing attire and opened the door. A single maid was waiting for him in Usagi's room. "Looking good as usual Milady, please follow me." She said with a bright smile, gesturing for him to follow. He sighed and did what he was told.

When he arrived there, he was stricken with an insidious terror upon seeing no one other than Haruhiko waiting for him there. His expression was not one of harshness, more or less it looked calm and neutral. Despite his nonchalant face, his presence alone was imposing enough to make Misaki uneasy and terrified for what might come.

The councilman stared down the princess, eventually speaking calmly, "it's good to see you again, princess. Before I get you ready for the wedding, I have to ask you some questions."

"Um, that's fine." Misaki said, starting to feel himself sweat. While he felt like he had nothing to hide, if he was pressed on his sex or his ability to bear children, he didn't know if he'd be able to remain convincing.

"Here, I have something for you." He said, producing the sword Usagi had given him earlier. Misaki's eyes widened upon seeing it, as he thought it had been lost to the bandits. "This is your weapon, isn't it?"

"Yes, it was mine, I thought I lost it." Haruhiko held out the sword then, and Misaki reached out to take it. He hesitated briefly, as if he thought it might be a trap, but eventually decided to take back what was his. After the hilt was in his hand, he wondered if this was a sort of trap to frame him for treason or something, and turned his attention back to the councilman. Perhaps Haurhiko was trying to frame him for treason, but he wouldn't be so stupid as to point his weapon at anyone.

"How did you manage to secure such a weapon? I was informed that you came to this country unarmed."

"It was a present, from my Lord husband." He answered honestly, though he didn't like where this line of questioning was going.

"Is that so? How strange." His tone immediately became sharp. "Why would he present a princess with a weapon?"

"Um, you can see the line he wrote right? It was to show his love."

Haruhiko raised an eyebrow, as if this is exactly what he wanted to happen. "I was told that you were able to hold your own during a sparring match with him. Is that correct?"

"Yes, um, I thought it unladylike to engage in such activities, but it did happen."

"Interesting." He said contemplatively. "Is it routine for women to be trained in your country?"

Misaki flinched, he'd heard that question before, from his husband. If he could keep a cool head, he could answer the question, probably. "Not all women, it's just that my position makes me a valuable target, so my brother thought it would be helpful if I could defend myself."

"And your brother thought you'd be strong enough to aid militarily trained soldiers in defending you?"

"Erm, well-" He had to think on his feet, as he didn't have an answer for this. "On the off chance I was alone, or separated from my train, I would at least be able to defend myself, if only for a while."

"I find it awfully strange that they would bother wasting their time training a princess. I've never heard of anyone ever doing such a thing."

"My brother thinks differently than the rest, I suppose."

Haruhiko fell silent then, as if contemplating the information he just received. "Very well. Come." He gestured for Misaki to follow him.

They travelled downward, passing several staircases until they ended up in a hallway with no windows. It was well kept, clean and orderly, lit by torches. "This is where you'll be staying for the next three days." Haruhiko explained in a flat tone. "I assume you are aware of our marriage customs? You will not be allowed to interact with your train, or the prince until the actual wedding day. We do this to clear up suspicions, and also to make sure the union will last." He cleared his throat, as if to indicate more explanation was coming. "In the past, a three day period was all we needed to expose potential assassins and usurpers. I expect you have no objections to staying here for three days?"

"It's fine." Misaki said, though being in such a desolate place would definitely make him feel lonely. It was fine, it was only for three days.

"Very good. While you're down here, ask our staff if you need anything." He said, staring down Misaki, as if daring him to say something.

"Thank you, sir."

"Our maids will bring you your possessions later today. Your train will be questioned too, I take it you have no objections?"

"That's true." He conceded. He trusted his train to keep the secret, and if they could just get through this last little stretch, they could all go home and relax.

"Very good. Rest well little princess." Haruhiko stated, then left. Misaki was left alone in a dark room.

Time appeared to pass slowly. The solitude and confined feel of the room reminded him heavily of when he was captured. At least he was free to walk around the room, but being trapped like he was made him nervous. After a while, he opened the door and peeked out.

The hall was fairly vacant, save for a figure at the end, indistinguishable in the darkness. Misaki pulled back, he wasn't sure if he was allowed to leave the room or not, and the last thing he wanted to do was draw more suspicion to himself. Though, the figure at the end of the hall approached, and the princess withdrew back into the room.

His pulse raced as he wondered what would happen to him. He didn't know if peeking out was against the rules, and he didn't know if the person he saw was friendly or not. Seconds later he felt a knock, followed up by a gentle voice. "Are you well, milady?"

Immediately he recognised the soft voice of the medic. Misaki opened the door, and sure enough Nowaki was there with a warm grin on his face. "Have you been here long?"

"Um, not really." He was slightly embarrassed about how he acted earlier, but still glad to see a friendly face. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I thought you might be a little unnerved in a situation like this, so I came to see if you were okay."

"Thank you." Misaki said, looking away. "But, I think I'll be okay. It's only for three days." He had to keep telling himself that. It would have been much easier to deal with this situation if his husband was with him, but since that was impossible, he'd have to rely on his own strength.

"I'll be around, for a few hours at least, if you need me for anything."

"Do you know if I'm allowed to leave the room?" Misaki asked suddenly.

"You are, you can enter any of the rooms on this floor. The door to the stairwell is locked though, so you won't be able to leave this floor until they come get you." His voice was full of sympathy, but he knew it had to be done. He was especially sympathetic because he knew Misaki was hiding something that could potentially cause a controversy.

At least he was a little reassured. "Thanks, I'm glad." Now that his worries had been put to rest, he was a little unsure as to what to do with the medic. The conversation would likely get awkward if they continued talking, and there probably wasn't much to discuss. "Well, if you want, you don't have to stay here with me, I'm sure you something you want to attend."

Nowaki just smiled. "Well, there will be guards on duty, so if you get lonely you can ask them to get me."

"I'll keep that in mind." Misaki said gratefully. With that, Nowaki took his leave. The princess was left to his own devices, and decided to see what he'd be up against for the next three days.

-All the while-

Usagi had spent most of his morning in the custody of maids and other staff going through the motion of their marriage rituals. That mostly entailed eating some disgusting soup to 'cleanse' him before the wedding, or something. Even someone as nonchalant about his food had trouble swallowing the stuff he was given, and soon after he swore to remove this custom from their culture so any future prince or princess wouldn't have to bear with it.

After that he was escorted to a room where he was fitted and dressed, which took FOREVER with all the maids fawning over how handsome he looked, and how he'd make a great king and husband. He just rolled his eyes and went along with it so it would end faster.

He hated every second of it, and vowed that this would be the last time any royal had to go through this. It probably wouldn't have even been so bad if he had Misaki with him to tease and torment. Sure it had only been a few hours, but he was already starting to feel lonely. The constant adherence to protocol certainly wasn't improving his mood any.

Around the time he was force fed more of the vile cleansing soup for lunch, Haruhiko made an appearance. Usagi noticed right away and his mood became noticeably hostile.

"I see you're adhering to the protocol." Haruhiko said stoically. "It's a welcomed change."

His gaze sharpened, but he said nothing. The last thing he wanted to do was play into Haruhiko's mind games.

"The princess is secured, just so you know. If I hear you've made contact with her before the wedding, there will be dire consequences."

"Tch." He responded. "As if I would give you the satisfaction."

"At least we understand each other." His reply was as stoic and calculating as ever. "Just know that I haven't stopped watching the princess. If you're planning anything, I will find out."

"Is that so?" He raised an eyebrow, partially with intrigue, but also to challenge his brother. "You won't find anything, but please continue to try."

Haruhiko said nothing after that, he just bowed out and left. Akihiko sighed heavily, thinking of Misaki alone on that floor. No doubt his princess was feeling lonely without him, and there was nothing he could do about it. Even though he didn't show it earlier, he was endlessly worried about his brother's involvement in his business. There was a very real possibility that he might figure something out, he was already on to them. No doubt he'd be interrogating everyone in Misaki's train endlessly, and knowing how persuasive and intimidating Haruhiko could be, it wouldn't be shocking to find out someone cracked under the pressure. He'd just have to keep a cool head and find a way to stay informed, without making too obvious.

He was snapped out of his musings when the maids approached again with their trinkets and cleansing soup and various other frivolous things. He sighed and resigned to bear with it.


	27. Interlude 3

A/N: Hey all, sorry for missing Monday's update, and sorry for the kind of skimpy update here. I'm sick as a dog, my throat is swollen up and I'm kind of miserable. I figured this would be better than nothing, so er, here you are. I'll most likely miss Monday's update again, depends on if I'm feeling better or not.

* * *

Nowaki returned from the lower reaches of the castle once the guards arrived. While he was feeling a little guilty for leaving the princess alone on that lonely floor, he was eager to meet up with Hiroki again. He never knew what he wanted to do with the trainer, he just took whatever came his way and went along with anything Hiroki asked. That usually involved him following him around the training grounds or looming around while Hiro tried to secure Akihiko's latest epic poem.

Right now he met up with the trainer who was idling around. He eyed Nowaki and nodded toward him.

"Did you meet with Misaki?"

"Yes, he- err, she seems fine. I'll see if she's feeling okay tomorrow, after she's been down there for a while."

Hiroki sighed. "Well, at least she's taking it well. I was worried she'd be frightened, considering that little ordeal she had."

They both feel silent then, as if the atmosphere between them became tense. It was sort of a grim subject, so they chose to ignore it for now.

"Anyway, I'll be sure to keep in contact with him- err, her, and report back to you, if you need it."

"Thanks." Hiro said dismissively.

Nowaki just smiled and took the trainer's hand. His good mood was obvious, and he figured he could spend the rest of his free time idling around with the man he may or may not have forced into being his boyfriend. As of now he was still unsure about where they were in their relationship, or if they were even really in a relationship, but he was happy to be able to see the trainer every day without getting pushed away. Even if they never progressed past this point, which was highly likely given their nationalities and the fact that they were both men, he'd be satisfied with it.

"Hey." Hiro said suddenly, marginally moving his arm to let Nowaki know he wasn't pleased with this arrangement.

"Oh, sorry." At that, he let go of Hiro's hand and looked away. While he was a little embarrassed, he was more disappointed that he couldn't publicly display his affection. It was kind of hard to resist, but he knew it was for the best if they didn't draw attention to themselves.

Hiro sighed. They ended up going to the training grounds, where they spent most of their time together. Even if Hiro didn't have any training duties, he still preferred to hand around there as it was what he knew best. Most of the time he'd inspect the weapons and make sure everything was properly managed. If there were ever a straggler around, Hiro would yell at them or chastise them for not taking their training seriously. Nowaki always watched with amusement, knowing that this man who was feared by most of his students could be sweet and gentle under the right circumstances. Or at least he perceived it that way.

Today though, Nowaki noticed another Taidan trainer and an archer there. He noticed right away that these two were in on the plan, as Hiro had described them earlier. It seemed like a harmless enough coincidence that they all met up here, but once Miyagi noticed them though, he came right over.

Instantly he wrapped himself around Hiroki. "Hey Kamijou! Have you come to see me? Look at how well my student makes his shots! Are you impressed?"

"Get off me!" Hiroki said, trying to shake the larger man off.

"Aww, whey do you always have to be like that?" He said comically, nuzzling into his fellow trainer. "I'm so lonely without you." He leaned in then, as if he were going to kiss Hiroki shamelessly and in front of the small gathering. It was a joke, but only he knew that.

Nowaki clenched his fists at this display. Rage bubbled up inside him and he approached without thinking. He said nothing, but his suddenly imposing presence caught their attention. Eventually he did decide to speak. "Are you responsible for training the new archer?"

"Uh, yes." He said suddenly.

"Thank you for that. Please make sure the princess is in good hands." His polite words were undermined entirely by his piercing gaze and sharp, accusatory tone. Nowaki shoved Miyagi off so hard he fell backwards and landed on the ground. His eyes flared with a ferocity that Hiroki had never seen before, it startled him. Still, seeing the usually gentle Nowaki so riled up on his behalf made his heart flutter. At that, Nowaki seized his arm and dragged him off, not saying a single thing to the man he just assaulted. He didn't even know where he was going, he just knew he had to get away from the other trainer.

They ended up in the garden, Nowaki released Hiroki's hand. "Sorry, I didn't mean to get so angry." He said in a defeated tone. He was a little ashamed of himself for acting that way, but he wouldn't have acted any differently if given the chance. For some reason seeing someone, anyone, all over Hiroki like that sparked his territorial nature. As of now he wanted everyone to know that he wasn't going to put up with anyone else handling Hiroki that way.

"That was a bit excessive." Hiro responded lamely, gradually getting more and more annoyed. "What was that for anyway? And don't you care one bit that someone could have easily seen you do that?!"

"I'm sorry." He said, looking away. All of the indignation from earlier seemed to have evaporated, leaving him with that same puppy-dog look he always had.

Hiro sighed, he couldn't muster the energy to stay mad at the adorable medic for long. "It's okay. Thanks for getting him off me."

Nowaki smiled lamely in response. "I guess it's better that we don't interrupt them anyway, they've obviously got some important training to get through."

"Yeah well, I suppose you should get back to whatever it is you do."

The medic looked disheartened at those words. "Alright, sorry to put you through that." He wanted to say, 'it won't happen again,' but he knew that wasn't true. If he saw someone all over Hiroki again, he knew he'd react the same way. He was actually kind of scared of what he was capable of if he was pushed to that. "Well, see you, Hiro-san." He turned to leave, looking dejected. No doubt his actions had made the man he loved dislike him. After what happened, he wouldn't have been surprised if they became distant, or if Hiro started ignoring or intentionally avoiding him. He'd still do his best to watch over the princess, and he certainly wasn't going to tell on them, but he couldn't help but feel a little hopeless.

"By the way, do you want to-" He paused and turned away, as if he were contemplating whether or not he wanted to finish that sentence. He took a deep breath and proceeded. "Do you want to come by my room later tonight?" His voice seemed to get lower and lower, his last few words were barely audible. He himself seemed unsure if he had conviction behind those words, but somehow he managed to get the words out. Nowaki's eyes widened in surprise and disbelief as if he couldn't quite believe his own ears.

His pulse raced as he tried to process what was just asked of him. It was surely just another benign thing, something innocent. Yes, that had to be it, there was no other explanation. After all, there was no way the standoffish, stubborn, dispassionate, quick tempered, oblivious, hostile, judgemental, irritable, mood swinging, prickly, unapproachable, romantically impaired Hiroki would ever initiate something like… that. It had to be a repeat of when they slept together, 'slept' being the key word. Nowaki sighed to himself thinking about how he almost jumped to a self serving conclusion, and assumed he was being selfish. Still, he wasn't about to pass up on the opportunity to potentially sleep next to the man he idolized again, so he'd agree. "Alright." He replied with a light pink blush dusting his cheeks.

Hiroki turned away, an unreadable expression on his face. "Good." He responded in a tone that was equally combative and affectionate. "I'll see you then, I guess."

"Yeah, I guess so." The medic replied, though he didn't know how to proceed. He touched the back of his neck nervously, before deciding to get ready for such a momentous occasion. "Well, good bye for now." At that, he turned to leave, his thoughts erratic. He didn't even get to the end of the hall before he realised he was sweating, and his hands were starting to shake. Even in his wild mind, he could ration that he was both excited and nervous, even if he had no real reason for feeling that way. Hee just sighed and tried to clear his thoughts, so that he wouldn't end up approaching an innocuous situation with unrealistic expectations.


	28. Interrogation

A/N: I'm almost fully recovered, but I do apologise for the last few chapters haha. I think there'll be two more after this one.

* * *

It was the dawn of a new day, Nowaki exited Hiroki's room with a beaming smile on his face. His mood would be flying high all day, maybe longer, he assumed. If he didn't have work to do, he would have gladly stayed in bed longer, with Hiroki. Though, the trainer wasn't exactly pleased with that kind of attitude, and insisted that Nowaki do his job and not slack off. Then, subtly, he invited Nowaki back once his work was over, which the medic very happily agreed to.

If all went well, he'd be doing this more often, and if he got his way, the trainer would stay with him rather than go back to his country. Perhaps with Akihiko as king, he could actually enter an open relationship with Hiroki, without worrying about accusations of colluding with the enemy, or being jailed for doing so. It would likely not happen that way, but his mood was flying so high that he couldn't muster a negative thought. That was, until made his way to the medic tent.

Before he could enter and start his work for the day, he froze solid at the sight of Haruhiko and his staff standing there, staring him down. The archer was there too, looking angry and a little worried. Haruhiko approached, it soon became clear that they were all there waiting for him specifically. He blood ran cold as he tried to think of what to say.

"Good morning medic." Haruhiko said simply. "I have a few questions for you, will you accompany me?"

It was phrased as a question, but of course it wasn't a request. Nowaki nodded weakly, it was his only option. His voice died in his throat, he couldn't vocalize his reply. Even if he were sturdier, there was no way he'd ever provoke the wrath of the council.

"Excellent." He said simply, then gestured for him to follow. It wasn't like he had a choice, councilmen were all around him as if forming a cage. Nowaki and Shinobu walked in silence as they were escorted to the colloquially named interrogation room. This was the first time Nowaki had ever seen the inside of this room, and Shinobu had only ever entered when it was vacant. It seemed like such a foreboding space now that council members were present.

The two were seated and Haruhiko sat before them with the other councilmen standing behind him. Nowaki was noticeably distressed, while Shinobu appeared to be completely disinterested, if not annoyed. Haruhiko cleared his throat, and began speaking. "I've noticed that you two have gotten awfully close with those Taidans. Medic, can you explain why you've chosen to learn the ways of our enemy? I don't suppose this is for strategic purposes."

"I- was just interested in the culture." He said, his voice wavering. No matter what, he couldn't disclose that he was in that kind of relationship with a man from their former enemy nation. That was the only reason why he had taken an interest in training, not for any malicious or strategic reasons. No matter how harmless his intentions were though, he would definitely be executed for engaging in a relationship with an enemy male.

"Is that so?" Haruhiko was not convinced, and he made sure they both knew it. "And you, archer, you've also been training under a Taidan, are our methods insufficient?"

"I just wanted to see how the inferior group trains their archers." He lied decisively. Unlike Nowaki, he wasn't the least bit nervous and ready to take on Haruhiko and all of his suspicions. "As expected, there's not an archer in Taida that can match me, and the trainer is only average."

At such a curt response, Haruhiko raised an eyebrow. Nowaki regarded Shinobu and wondered if what he was saying was true or not. This was the archer tasked with pulling off the fake assassination, but was that just a front? Nowaki started to worry then, for the safety of the princess. Nevertheless, Haruhiko continued his line of questioning. "If that is true, why do you continue to see him? I would think someone with your talent would be above wasting your time."

Shinobu scoffed and bit his lip. While he was offended by someone daring to imply spending time with Miyagi was a waste of time, he'd hold his tongue. "He was so enthralled by my talent that he begged me to show him my techniques every day."

"Really now?" His gaze fixed on Nowaki again, who was still distressed and trying to think of lies. "And you, I've noticed you don't actually do much training. What is your reason for continuing to meet with a military trainer?"

"I-" It was hard for him to justify himself when he was put on the spot. With no time to prepare, he had to think quickly. "It's more or less just a curiosity of their customs. He's a pretty interesting guy, I've learned a lot about his culture…"

"Is that so, what have you learned?" It was unclear if he was pressing because he wanted to catch Nowaki in a lie, or if he was trying to a weakness in his enemy. Either way, the pressure was on.

"I learned that they have celebrations to celebrate the solstices, and that if the royal family has five female children they celebrate because the most well known royal family in their history had five women in them. It's unlucky to have holes on only one shoe, and axes must be stored with the blade facing up or else spirits will enter their houses…"

"That's enough." Haruhiko said, apparently unimpressed with such useless information. "Have you learned anything of value, anything useful?"

"…Not particularly." He lied. Under no circumstances would he sell out his friends, or his lover.

He sighed, but then turned his attention back to Shinobu. "You've been doing a fair amount of training by the volcano, what is the reason for that particular location?"

Shinobu cast his gaze to the side as he quickly thought of a lie. "The angles from the volcano are tricky, trying to hit a target on the ground would be difficult for the average archer. It was my idea, I wanted to try shooting from a good vantage point. I think only I can pull off tricky shots like that."

"I take it you didn't find our training methods satisfactory?" Haruhiko's tone changed to one of someone who knew the answer already. Shinobu ignored it and continued.

"I'm already well above everyone else, that includes the trainers. Naturally, I get bored training at someone else's pace. Miyagi just agreed to oversee my progress while I practice shots from different angles. No other trainer seems to have time for a prodigy like me, for some reason, so I'll take what I can get."

Nowaki glanced over to Shinobu, astounded by how he was able to keep a cool head and a calm demeanor. Even if he didn't have much information on the nature of Misaki's plan, he was fairly certain that Shinobu was lying. Maybe he wasn't lying about everything, but if he did take the job of being an assassin, he was definitely hiding his true motives. His confidence and ability to think on his feet was inspiring, and Nowaki resolved to be stronger too.

"There's no other reason?"

"No."

"Are you absolutely certain of that?"

"I'm quite sure." Shinobu said decisively.

"Very well, I have enough information from both of you. You may leave."

While there was an air of tension between them, they were pleased that they weren't being taken to the dungeon or put up for execution. Still, it seemed unlikely that they were out of the woods yet. The council very rarely did interrogations like that without a solid reason. They both left then, thinking they had put on a convincing performance. They wouldn't relax fully just yet, but at least they survived for now.

When they were out of ear range, Nowaki turned to Shinobu, who was apparently unaffected by what happened. "Are you alright?"

"You're more of a wreck than I am." He stated blandly. "I don't care much for his accusations. I'm not going to let him stop me either." At that, he headed back to the castle. He didn't say it out loud, but he was going to report what happened to Miyagi. Just in case the council wanted to press him for information, he wanted his pseudo trainer to be prepared.

Nowaki seemed to realise this too, and headed back to quickly inform Hiroki about the potential danger he was in.

Haruhiko already had an idea of what was going on, and after talking with the two, he was now convinced that his suspicions were correct. He didn't have the hard evidence that he wanted, and he wasn't able to wrest a confession out of the two, but he was reasonably assured that he had all of the information he needed. Now that he knew what he was in for, he started making plans to counter the plot.


	29. Converge

The time he spent waiting for the wedding day had been hard on Misaki, the solitude and anxiety was weighing heavily on his mind. With no one to interact with, and not a whole lot to do, he couldn't help but think about the upcoming wedding. Thinking about the shot, and the possibility of being found out made him feel a constant terror, and he was completely unable to do anything about it. All he could do was wait helplessly and speculate about what was going on above him.

The little bit of freedom he had did help to occupy his thoughts, when they weren't running wild. He'd looked around the floor he was confined to, in one of the rooms was a collection of notes left by previous brides and grooms who went through the same three day period he was currently going through. They had left notes of their thoughts about their upcoming wedding, ten generations back. There were notes from the very first person to adhere to this custom, and notes left by the bride that came before Misaki. They wrote of their fears, their delights, and their nervousness. The testimonials of love and of cultural appreciation were something he understood well.

Honestly, reading these heartfelt words brought him to tears, in a good way. The sheer force of such genuine emotion warmed his heart and gave him the strength he needed to carry out his mission. These were all people who came before him, if they were alive today he would have thanked them individually for their inspiration.

After a while, being bored and a little nervous, he decided that he too would contribute. He didn't think for a second that there'd ever be another princess like him, his words would likely go ignored or unnoticed, but he didn't care. It lifted his heart so much to be part of this, even if his marriage was a sham.

It was time, the wedding day had finally come. It was early in the morning, the ever diligent maids arrived, insisting that Misaki get properly prepared. Naturally he declined all of their help and insisted that he get dressed on his own, regardless of their protest and in spite of how long it took. He did allow the maids to do his hair and fix his accessories once he was properly dressed. He didn't get to see how he looked, but he already knew how gaudy Farrian fashion was. Everything felt tight and restricting, not like he wasn't used to it already. When he looked down, he could see the many layers of frills and the many adornments on his wedding dress. While he could hardly move, the weight of many layers of fabric and jewels and accessories holding him back, he knew he'd be able to endure the rest of the day. He could even outwardly show his nervousness to the maids, who just assumed he was nervous because of the standard wedding procedures.

He was brought up the stairs, and on the way he met up with Nowaki. The medic offered up a genuine smile, but still appeared more nervous than Misaki. The princess gave a smile and nod back, though he wasn't any more reassured. They didn't get time to talk, as Misaki had to meet up with his husband.

It was wonderful to see the sun again. After this he swore to never go underground again. He had grown to appreciate the sun more than he could have ever predicted before he came here. "This way Milady." The maids said, hauling him off toward the appointed spot.

"I know where to go." He said while struggling to keep up. "There's no need to drag me."

"I'm so sorry Milady, I'm just so excited." At that she released his arm. "I understand you're a little nervous too, I'm sorry for rushing you."

"Ahaha, don't worry. I'm fine." At that he blushed. Thinking about it now, he did partially feel excited even if he knew the marriage was a lie. Under no circumstances would he let anyone know the reason for his nervousness. Either way, he started walking on his own, with the ever eager maids trailing behind him. Once they reached the road leading up to the volcano, the maids accompanying dispersed into the massive crowd. He was left to his own devices, but he knew the way well enough.

The crowds around him cheered as he made his way toward his husband. It seemed almost surreal to him, since not too long ago the people here would have considered him their enemy. He shrunk under the weight of a nation's gaze, but he couldn't minimize his presence. As of now he was the star and all eyes were on him. Though, he did feel as if his fears were absolved as his husband came into view. Misaki didn't pick up the pace or anything, he continued to approach slowly, suddenly blushing and feeling his heart flutter. He knew that he was about to be shot, and yet, somehow, he felt safe, like everything was going to be okay.

(Meanwhile)

Usagi had also been on edge since the time he was forced out of bed by his train. If it wasn't the maids, it was Aikawa nagging him to properly prepare. Even if she knew the wedding was a sham, she was still excited to see how it would proceed. Usagi wasn't thrilled in the slightest, he was too busy worrying about what might happen to his lover if the shot went wrong. The only thing that motivated him to actually put effort into getting ready was the thought of seeing Misaki again. The past few days had been torturous to him. Dealing with Haruhiko and his growing suspicions had put him in a constant state of irritability, the only think keeping him from ordering his brother be thrown into the volcano was hoping he'd get a moment alone with his lover and vent his frustrations.

Once he was prepared, Aikawa appeared before him to go over the schedule. "Lord Takahiro and his train have arrived. He's waiting for you in the gallery. You will go and greet him, but don't let him know you know about his plan."

"Why? Even if I know, I'm not going to attack him. Wouldn't it be better if he knew that I knew, so we could just drop all the pretense and speak openly about it?"

"No, you will continue acting as if you were unaware. Just in case something goes wrong, it's best to claim ignorance." She thought about what it might mean to have a king conspire with a former enemy nation. While talking things over with Takahiro might lead to some advantages, she was worried about what might happen if other countries found out about the plan, and that Usagi knew about it the whole time. On the off chance of them finding that out, it would probably be best to keep his knowledge a secret.

Usagi wasn't about to argue with her. He was too tired and frustrated to bother putting up a fight. The issue wasn't that important to him anyway. "Well, whatever. I'll see him now." For the first time ever, he wasn't particularly thrilled to meet with the former object of his affections. Takahiro stood against him as an obstacle of sorts. No matter, he wasn't about to let Takahiro or his brother keep him from Misaki. Really he was only meeting with him as a formality, his mind was completely fixed on seeing Misaki again.

He and Aikawa met up with Takahiro, but their meeting was fairly short. It was mostly just a formality, Takahiro needed to check in to make sure his 'sister' was treated well and in good hands. Usagi had nothing to hide, so he was as forthcoming with everything except him knowing about Misaki's sex, and of course how far they'd already gone. Takahiro was pleased, and bowed out and exited the room, meeting up with his train and taking his place among the wedding audience. Usagi sighed, but quickly made his way to the appointed spot.

Crowds had already gathered, and cheered the second Usagi came into view. He had slipped into his public relations persona and put on a bright smile for all of his citizens. When he approached the base of the volcano, he turned to face the people. "Thank you all so much for coming to witness my wedding. It is truly a bright day for the country." He paused to let the crowds cheer, and waited patiently until they settled down. "It is my great honour to welcome Lord Takahiro here today, our nations will truly flourish under our union." The easily excitable crowd cheered again, internally he rolled his eyes. If this continued he'd be here all day, just getting the formalities out of the way. "Today I will be wed, we will witness the unification of our nations."

His formalities continued, until his obligations were concluded. Around that time, he took his place by the pond, and waited for his wife to arrive. His face lit up seeing his lover again after a three day absence. It took all of his self-control not to run up and hug him on sight. Instead he willed himself to hold his position, as his fake wife approached.

Misaki made his way there painfully slowly, but once he was close enough to touch, he took him by the hand. "I missed you."

"Yeah, I- missed you too." He said quietly.

"Come, let's get married."

Misaki was dragged along, and they took their place by the bubbling pond by the volcano. The clergy and council stood around, but Haruhiko was nowhere to be seen.

(Meanwhile)

Shinobu waited atop the volcano, mostly hidden and ready to strike. His bow rested on the ground in front of him, as neither the prince nor the princess had arrived on the scene yet. As far as he was concerned, there was no point in expending valuable energy keeping his bow raised when the target had yet to arrive. He wouldn't bother practicing either, as then he'd run the risk of being seen. His vantage point gave him fairly good coverage, he was certain that no one could see him there. Nothing left for him to do but wait until the target appeared.

There wasn't a signal to wait for, he was just instructed to shoot when he thought the time was right. Already the crowds were waiting, the buzz of speculation rising to the archer's ears. While he couldn't hear anyone's individual words, he could hear their delight just fine. He sighed. If someone caught him there was no doubt in his mind that he'd be executed and remembered forever as a villain, and yet he couldn't feel anything other than mild annoyance. His confidence drove away any worrying thought that might enter, and so he just wanted to get this over with and get back to Miyagi. Though, he wasn't sure if Miyagi would stick around. It seemed unlikely, but he could dream.

His attention was caught when he heard the flourish of the crowd, and instinctively he went for his bow. He watched carefully as Akihiko made his way toward the pond. His legions of subjects cheered, and he bowed toward them. The future king began speaking, but Shinobu couldn't quite hear what was being said. Once he was finished speaking, the crowd cheered and he bowed toward them cordially. There was still no sign of Misaki, His bow lowered again, and his mind began to wander.

Finally, once he heard the flourish of the audience once more, he grabbed his bow. The sight of the blazing red and white made him an easy target. When Misaki and Akihiko stood by the pond, Shinobu took aim. They remained still, listening to the rites of marriage, at that moment he readied the shot. It was so clear and easy that there was no way he could miss.


	30. Que Sera Sera

A/N: I'm back baby! This is it, I'm going to end this today. Thank you all for sticking with me! I hope you all enjoyed! Anyway, so long, farewell, until we meet again!

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The cheering crowds fell dead silent once the clergy raised their hands. They commanded total attention, and not a soul dared raise their voice. One of the clergymen gestured for everyone to kneel, which they did. The standing clergymen and the royal couple faced each other, and the rite officially began. A royal wedding was slightly different from regular citizens' weddings, as usually the entirety of the clergy and the council weren't present for unions of commoners. There usually wasn't this big a crowd to witness a common union either. For some reason, seeing this many people made Misaki feel a little calmer. This many witnesses would ensure the assassination would look real, and easily corroborated. His heart raced, but he felt safe.

"Princess Misaki of Taida, it is our great honour to have you with us today. We welcome you as one of our own, and after today, you will join our ranks and become the mother of our nation."

His words felt heavy to Misaki. It was such an important title, and honestly he wasn't sure if he could pull it off if he actually had to go through with it. Up until now, he had always relied on his brother. This time though, he was determined to do this on his own.

They approached the priest by the bubbling pond. Everyone stood then, and waited with increasing anticipation. Now that they were in position, Misaki wondered if he was in a good place to be shot. His eyes darted to the spot on the volcano, trying to see if he could spot Shinobu. He couldn't, but he just assumed he had to keep himself concealed so the masses wouldn't spot him either.

Misaki stood perfectly still, trying to make himself an easy target. He only half listened to what the priest said while his tension rose. With every passing second, he became more worried. He couldn't help but wonder if Shinobu deserted him too. Could that have happened? If that wasn't the case, then why hadn't Shinobu taken the shot? He managed to spare a passing glance at Takahiro, who was also looking increasingly distressed.

"If anyone has any objections to this union, speak now."

Nothing but silence. Not even a nationalist with inward hatred for Taidans spoke up. Takahiro looked like he wanted to say something, but expertly held his tongue. Misaki frantically looked around for something, anything that might delay this.

"Then with the blessing of the nation, I hereby command the union to be made official."

In front of everyone, as shamelessly as he could muster, Usagi seized his lover's chin and kissed him deeply and passionately. For a moment, the smaller was so shocked and off put by being kissed right in front of his brother, and everyone else. Of course, the worry took over again, so he didn't stay mad for long. The crowds around them erupted with cheers, and yet there was no sign of an arrow anywhere. There wasn't much time left, if he wasn't going to be shot here, there was a strong chance that Shinobu had abandoned his position. Usagi then grabbed Misaki's wrist and held it up, as was customary, before taking him by the hand and walking away from the volcano. The princess hesitated, but knew he couldn't delay the inevitable.

They walked down the path, past the hordes of cheering crowds. Misaki was already in a cold sweat, rife with panic and terror. From here he didn't know what he'd do. The colour left his face, and he felt like his knees were buckling beneath him.

"Hey, Misaki, are you feeling okay?" Usagi said suddenly.

"I- I-" He couldn't get his voice out. He did feel his hands shaking, and he could feel his strength leaving him.

Though, Usagi reacted quickly and scooped up his wife, carrying him out of the public eye. Misaki was still suffering from his terror, but he did calm down a little when they were back in the castle, away from the public eye.

"We still have a lot to get through today, are you able to handle it?" Usagi said, though his voice was nearly drowned out by the deafening cheers.

"I wasn't shot…" He turned to his husband as he was set down on his feet. "Wait a second, you didn't have anything to do with this, did you?" He was suddenly overcome with indignation. Though, as selfish and single-minded as his husband could be, it seemed way out of his character to sabotage the prosperity of both of their nations just to satisfy his own personal desires.

"I can't say I'm upset about the outcome, but I can assure you that I didn't do anything to stop your plan." He shrugged, completely unbothered by the proceedings.

"Well, what are we going to do?! We need to think of something!"

Usagi stretched out nonchalantly. "Well, maybe he's planning on getting you at another time? We've still got the whole day ahead of us, lots of ceremony and feasting, and dancing, and…"

"Okay, okay, I get it." He said, sighing but at least feeling better. "I wasn't told, but I suppose they're just planning to strike at a more opportune time?" He sighed, it seemed unlikely, but it was all he could hope for right now. "Alright then, what do we do now?"

"We head to the banquet hall, for a few hours of feasting and declarations and such. Then we'll head to the grand hall, where we'll address your brother and speak with the masses. You'll get to meet up with your old train and all that."

Misaki went over all possibilities in his head. The volcano would have been the best place for the assassination, outside with lots of witness. Though, he had been out of contact with everyone for the last three days, so the plan might have been changed to better accommodate Shinobu and the sudden expectations placed on him. Misaki would live with that, just as long as the plan was carried out at some point.

The ceremonies lasted until dusk, but at no point did Misaki see any sign of Shinobu. His anxiety had hit his peak and he was sure that Shinobu had run away. His brother was here in his room, and Misaki wondered if he was coming up with a plan. He resolved to meet with his brother as soon as he had a spare moment. Once everyone cleared out, Misaki was left feeling despondent. They had missed their chance, or so it seemed.

Before they could make it back to their room, Haruhiko appeared before them, with an expression on his face that said he wasn't pleased. "Come with me." He said absolutely. Misaki looked to his husband, but in this situation they couldn't exactly resist. They both knew that Haruhiko knew something, it wouldn't do them any good to ignore it.

They were led by Haruhiko to the dungeon, where they stopped before a single, now occupied cell. Misaki flinched back seeing Shinobu bound with his face swollen.

"I discovered this man attempting to commit treason, I believe with your orders as the king, we will put him to death in the morning." Haruhiko stated plainly.

Misaki fell quiet, fearing desperately for Shinobu's life. How could he possibly stop an execution without giving away his secret?

"How can you be certain that this man was trying to commit treason?" Usagi said in his usual condescending tone when dealing with his brother. "Are you certain that you're not just abusing your authority?"

"I found him atop the volcano, with an arrow at the ready. You wouldn't suggest he was waiting there with his weapon raised and not planning an attack?"

They both held their tongues, as if they were trying to think of an explanation. The last thing they wanted was for Shinobu to get executed after he accepted such an important task. Misaki was especially nervous, and looking more frantic by the second. "It is as I thought then, the punishment for treason is death. I will make sure he is made an example of."

"Wait, um…" Misaki interjected.

Haruhiko raised an eyebrow, but he didn't seem at all angered by the foreign princess's sudden defiance. "Do you have something to say, princess?" He asked accusingly, his tone loaded with condescension.

"I- well, I-" He took a deep breath, and thought about what to say. He had thought about what he'd do if he ended up in a situation like this while he was waiting those three days. Sure he didn't think he'd need to use any of his ideas, and he wasn't sure if he could be convincing, but he'd at least try. "I ordered this man to act as a guard. I was worried that someone might try to assassinate me, so I had him stand watch until the proceedings ended."

Usagi regarded his wife with an unreadable expression. Misaki couldn't look at him just yet, as his head was lowered to avoid making eye contact with Haruhiko. The situation suddenly seemed extreme, neither of them knew what to expect.

"Really now?" Haruhiko said, contemplatively. "How do I know you're not just conspiring against us? Don't think I didn't look into this event beforehand. I've seen our own colluding with yours. I'll have you know that I've arrested all of the conspirators."

"No, that's not-"

"Let me ask you, are you conspiring against this country? Have you been a spy this whole time?"

"That's enough!" Usagi commanded, shoving his brother aside. "You're jumping to conclusions without evidence. If you think you've got everything figured out, why don't you try proving it?"

"I believe the evidence speaks for itself. Why are you even fighting this? Aren't you the least bit worried that you were just the target of an assassination?"

"He wasn't the target!" Misaki said suddenly, then instantly regretted it. After saying that, he wondered if he could salvage the lie he told earlier. "Um, I mean, I told you that I hired him to watch over me…"

Haruhiko's gaze became sharp. "I still haven't found out what your secret is, princess. Is this what you were planning? To have one of our own assassinate the king? What did you pay?" He thought about it, it made sense. Misaki himself wasn't the threat, but he could still hire someone to do his dirty work for him. Haruhiko didn't yet have all the answers, but he thought he was far enough ahead to convict Misaki for his hand in the assassination attempt.

"That, that wasn't the plan."

Usagi couldn't help but feel trapped by this situation, and he hoped the Misaki would stop digging themselves deeper.

"You should be aware of something, I met up with an oracle again. I know that you're up to something, something that might have lasting consequences on our country. I have to ask you, what are you up to? If you are not forthcoming with me, I'll take the issue to your brother."

After hearing that, the royal couple realised how trapped they were. Misaki looked toward his husband, whose eyes begged him not to come clean. Though, Misaki wasn't sure he could talk his way out of the situation, so perhaps he could rely on his brother to think of something. "I can explain, well, I think it would be better if you heard it directly from my brother." Now that he was trapped, he decided it would be best to proceed with his brother with him. Takahiro would be more proficient in diffusing the situation. "We'll explain everything." Misaki said, horribly despondent in his failure to uphold the mission. With the aid of his brother, it might just be possible to end this without an international incident. The atmosphere was one of sadness as they sought out the king.

Discussions lasted all night long. Takahiro and his persuasive power of speech was able to smooth things over. He explained everything, from the moment his parents got the oracle's message to the moment Misaki arrived. He explained that it was his parent's plan to pass Misaki off as a princess, and it was their idea to stage the fake assassination. When his parents had died, he decided it was best to keep their strategy alive, even if he didn't agree with it. It was risky, but he didn't know what else to do. To everyone's shock, Haruhiko seemed slightly understanding. He claimed he wouldn't go to the public if Takahiro complied with his demands.

Haruhiko agreed to inform the masses that the princess was indeed assassinated, though he wouldn't be frank about the details. He of course instructed Takahiro to take his brother and leave, and he made sure to let him know that they would never be allowed back. Takahiro had no choice to but to accept those terms, lest he start an unwinnable war.


	31. Fate Strikes Down the Strong Man

A/N: This is the last chapter everyone, kind of like a short finisher. I uploaded twice today, so if you want to know what lead to this, you might want to read the preceding chapter. Congratulations on making it to the end and have a nice day!

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There was no war, no fighting, no conflict of any kind as the Taidan carriage brought Misaki outside of Farrian territory. His brother, the king, was there personally, escorting the former princess back to his homeland. As much as he tried to look indifferent, he couldn't hide his sorrows. Takahiro tried to ignore it, but his brother's glum expression made him want to cheer him up. "It's not your fault Misaki."

He'd heard that enough last night. He knew it wasn't his fault. That didn't change the fact that he'd never get to see Usagi again. Even if there was no war, the tensions were raised and he'd never be able to re-enter those boarders again. The thought of this crushed him with loneliness, and he was bordering on inconsolable. "I know."

"Misaki, our relationship with Farrion may be strained, but Taida is safe, there won't be a war." Takahiro attempted to console his brother with these words. While Misaki was glad no one would have to lose their life over this, it didn't change the fact that he'd never be with Usagi again.

The former princess looked to his brother with all the melancholy his heart held. Even though this was his beloved family member, he could never know the nature of his relationship with Usagi. No one could ever know about it, not even Takahiro. Still, he could go to his brother for a little comfort. All at once, his eyes overflowed with tears and he bit his lip. Even if he couldn't say why he was crying, he could at least hold on to his brother for comfort.

"Misaki…" Takahiro gripped his sobbing brother. He wasn't sure why his brother was so distraught, but somehow he knew not to press. Instead he held him in silent simplicity as he sobbed. Somehow Takahiro deduced that there were still things Misaki wanted to accomplish while in Farrion, yet, he couldn't figure out what those things could be. He understood the longing, but he also knew Misaki would never have that closure. "This is something that couldn't be helped. Fate can strike down the strongest of men."

His brother spoke the truth, he knew that for sure. Yet, he didn't know if he could accept it. He wasn't nearly strong enough to challenge his fate or accept it, leaving him feeling powerless and insignificant. It only furthered his descent into despair.

"I'm sorry Misaki. Is there anything I can do?"

"No…" There really wasn't anything that could be done. Even if it were in Takahiro's power, he wouldn't want his brother going out on a limb just for his sake. The country and the citizens had to come first, and so they deserved all of Takahiro's attention. Misaki decided then to deal with his own problems, and not burden his brother unnecessarily.

"When we get back to Taida, just know that you won't have to put on a façade anymore. You can live peacefully among the citizens as a commoner."

"Of course." He said, his sobbing subsiding. "I'll- start a new life, outside of the royal family."

"Don't push yourself…"

"No, it's something I have to do." Misaki had made up his mind then. He'd put all of his effort into helping his brother, and making Taida the best country it could be, whether it was from a position of power or a citizen. Perhaps then someday, he could even venture outside the borders and travel to Farrion. Maybe then…

XXX

Ever since Misaki and his train left, Usagi had refused to leave his room or see anyone. Even if he was the prince, he couldn't be bothered to do anything right now. He was too overcome with sadness to have any motivation. As the prince, his hands were tied until he was married. His authority as the prince was limited, and the citizens wouldn't allow a change in their laws until he had properly attained the crown. The laws put in place by his ancestors had stripped him of his power, and he was a prisoner of his own system.

The unrest within his country was rising though. Taidans were not generally accepted by the public, and talk on the streets always seemed to lead back to how their prince might have been deceived by the enemy. If Usagi hadn't so fervently insisted that they not start a conflict, he was certain that war would have broken out by now.

Being alone like that, it gave him ample time to think. Should he marry a woman just so that he may gain the power of his birthright? While it wasn't a particularly appealing idea, he felt like there was no other option. He had to quash the unrest and hatred his people had for Taidans. There was no way he'd allow the slaughter of the people he loved, and so he had to act. With the power of the king, he'd finally be able to make a change. It was just so much effort, but he saw no other option. For his beloved Misaki, and even for Takahiro, he'd have to do something he previously thought impossible.

The announcement of his plans to find a bride travelled though Farrion quickly. The first person to respond was his tactician. Usagi knew that telling her of his plans wouldn't cause any damage to his reputation, and since she was already aware of his preferences, he figured she'd be a decent choice. She was surprisingly okay with his plan, particularly because she wanted to end the tension with Taida too. Both of them were aware of how much of a sham the marriage would be, but they would do it for the good of the country. The citizens were pleased of course, to see their future king finally accept his responsibilities.

"You know, if you ever happen to meet up with the princess again, you have my permission to two time me to your heart's content." She said one day after their fake marriage.

Usagi looked at her with an expressionless face. "I appreciate it." He knew that his political move would result in a sexless, loveless marriage. She knew it too. Though, her joking did nothing to brighten his mood. He wouldn't be happy again, until he could use his power as the king to fix the broken laws of his country and repair his relationship with the country that held his love. Until then, he could only hold back his army and long for Misaki once more.


	32. Alternate

Just as Shinobu was about to let the arrow fly, he felt an imposing presence behind him. At the last second, he leapt up just in time to dodge a very suspicious, very determined Haruhiko. The archer sighed, this was the last thing he wanted to deal with.

"Halt, assassin!" Haruhiko demanded.

 _'Yeah right, like I'm going to let you catch me just so I can be executed.'_ He thought to himself as he started slinking down the crags. First and foremost, he had to keep himself alive, but a close second was finishing the job. With Haruhiko so close behind him though, he wondered if pulling off the shot was possible.

"HALT!" The councilman said again, though he was starting to fall behind. Shinobu was small and agile, he could easily gain distance.

However, just gaining distance wasn't enough, he'd need to find a hiding spot and make the shot. As he got further and further down the volcano, his could see his chances of enacting the plan diminish. That was, until he saw the familiar sight of Nowaki, slowly making his way up the trail. This could be his chance. "Hey medic, you distract the councilman while I make the shot!" He didn't bother to stop, and he didn't bother to explain himself further. The bewildered Nowaki was left wide eyed, looking around for the councilman in question.

Seconds later Haruhiko came into view, and he was equally surprised to see Nowaki just standing there. They collided, and they ended up falling down the side of the volcano independent of the path. When their momentum slowed and they landed on a nearby crag, there was minimal damage. Despite his better judgement, Nowaki realised he could use this to his advantage.

"Oh, my councilman, are you injured?" He didn't think for a second that such a light fall would cause any noteworthy damage, but he thought it would be a good diversion while Shinobu made the shot. "Here, let me check you for damage…"

Haruhiko was temporarily stunned, slightly shaken after what just happened. Nowaki began his routine procedure, tapping pressure points and checking for scrapes. Seconds later, Haruhiko came to his senses and tried to shove Nowaki away. "Stand down medic, that archer is about to commit treason!"

"Um, just hold on, you won't be able to catch him if you don't properly address your wounds."

Haruhiko was unconvinced, he already suspected Nowaki of conspiring with Shinobu, so he wasn't about to stop. Though, from this spot, he didn't know which direction would be best to continue the chase.

It didn't matter though, the distant sound of a bowstring could be heard, and the two of them looked in that direction to see an arrow cutting through the air. It was too late, Haruhiko watched helplessly. No one could tell who the arrow's target was, Haruhiko could only speculate.

-At the Base-

It all happened in a split second. The arrow pierced Misaki in the shoulder, and almost immediately he started to feel the effects of the poison. The pain he should have felt in his shoulder was dulled by that poison, but the pounding in his head seemed so much worse. Usagi thought he was prepared for this moment, but seeing his wife in such distress made him feel panic beyond what he pictured. "Misaki!" He cried, a genuine fear taking control of him.

He heard the crowds erupt with screams of terror, but Misaki only registered a dull buzz of activity. His consciousness was fading, the light was draining from his eyes, and it terrified him. The final thing he saw before blacking out completely was Usagi's terrified expression.

Among the chaos, Takahiro made his way to the front. Naturally he was worried about his brother, but he knew he'd survive. "Akihiko!" He called, immediately catching the attention of the other king. They exchanged concerned glances, and Takahiro gestured for the other to carry Misaki to safety. With the swarms of startled people running rampant, getting to a safe room was harder than expected. Akihiko managed to use his king voice to force the citizens out of his way.

Once they were in the castle, both kings and the unconscious princess made their way into the medicine room. There was no way they'd be able to stay safely outside, so even if Nowaki wasn't here yet, it was still the best course of action to wait it out.

They waited in relative silence for Nowaki to arrive. He should have been there, so they ordered one of the guards to look for him. Takahiro knew Misaki would live, but he didn't know how much Akihiko knew. It must have been stressful for the new king to see his wife like this.

Just then, Nowaki and Haruhiko, as well as a captive Shinobu appeared. Haruhiko froze, taking in the sight of Misaki incapacitated while his brother stood fine. His assumption was wrong, Shinobu wasn't targeting Akihiko, but the foreign princess. Now as he stood before Takahiro, his demeanor changed from one of superiority to one of apology.

Nowaki immediately began looking Misaki over. He was in on the plan naturally, but he put on a good show, doing exactly what he would normally do in this situation. Haruhiko approached Takahiro, his head bowed. "I offer my deepest apologies, this terrorist is the perpetrator who shot the princess." He offered Shinobu, throwing him at Takahiro's feet.

"Thank you." Takahiro said solemnly. "I will think of a suitable punishment for this individual." Nothing about his tone conveyed anger or retribution, he sounded too despondent. "For now I'll keep him in my custody." He summoned sound of his guards to take Shinobu in. Of course he wasn't going to do anything to him, but he thought it best to keep up the front.

Just then, the guards arrived to take Shinobu away, but they knew he wasn't really a criminal. They were fully prepared to treat him like royalty after what he put himself through.

Usagi ended up sighing, while Nowaki did his theatrical exam. There was a silence in the air, and he decided to break it first. "Takahiro, I want you to know I do truly love Misaki. I would do anything to stay with Misaki, I don't know what I'd do if we couldn't be together."

"As it stands now, I don't know if that's possible." Takahiro said.

"I don't care what it takes, I'll make sure we're together." There were so many loose ends to tie, but he was determined. While Misaki was suffering the effects of the poison, he'd take steps in clearing up everything. "Takahiro, do you mind if I step out for a moment?"

"Not at all." He said, actually relieved.

"Thank you." He said, bowing cordially to the foreign king. "Haruhiko, come with me, we've much to discuss."

As much as the councilman didn't want to be ordered around by his brother, he didn't really have a choice. So they exited. Usagi knew that Misaki would be safe, and that if he was declared dead that it was just part of the act. He'd be safe with Takahiro and Nowaki while he smoothed things out with his arch nemesis of a brother.

Akihiko brought his brother to a small room, just to be out of ear shot of everyone else. No matter what, he was going to find a way to keep Misaki, and he was willing to try reasoning with his arch nemesis to accomplish that. "I assume you knew of the terrorist attack in advance?" He said bluntly.

"I had my suspicions, but I didn't want to trouble you."

"Really now, you didn't think a terrorist attack was worth running by me? I should have you executed for treason." He stopped then, he wasn't going to get anywhere with such a hot head. He took a deep breath an continued, "look, I'm not going to punish you for not telling me. Instead, I want to make a deal with you.."

"I don't believe this will be to my benefit. If you're going to put me to the axe, I'd rather you do it without ceremony…"

"I'm trying to reason with you here!" The younger brother said, all with indignation. "Just hear me out, I'm going to make a proposal that I think even you can appreciate." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair then, trying to ward off his frustration.

Haruhiko held his tongue, finally willing to hear his brother out.

"You're well aware of the princess's secret that the oracles keep eluding to right? Well, I figured it out. She was cursed to be infertile long ago." It was a bluff, mostly, but he didn't see a problem with it. It seemed believable enough.

The councilman raised an eyebrow, absolutely shocked that his brother would disclose such information. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I fell in love. I want to make a deal with you. If you let me keep my marriage to Misaki, I will name your child the heir to the throne, should you choose to have a child…" He paused, wondering if his offer would resonate. Haruhiko didn't have any children as of now, but it wouldn't be that difficult to find a wife and produce one. "We can alert the citizens to it, or we can pass off your child as mine for public events. I'm not going to tell you how to raise your child, and I'm not going to take it as my own either. You can instill whatever values you like, I'll not intervene at all."

Haruhiko narrowed his eyes, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You're serious."

"I can't give you the throne, as the citizens already know about our relationship. But I can give the throne to your lineage. It's the best I can offer. Will you accept?"

There was a long silence. It just seemed so surreal that Akihiko was offering such a monumental deal, it was too good to be true. "I will consider it."

"I need an answer now." Akihiko said, unwavering.

"Very well, I will accept your offer as it stands now. Should you choose to go back on your word, I'll bring your wife's infertility to the people and oust her from our nation."

"Fine." He said, pleased with those terms. "You must excuse me now, I must see if my wife is safe." At that, he walked right past his brother without another word.

His next objective would be to convince Takahiro to allow his brother to stay married to him. This would probably be more difficult, considering Takahiro was well aware of Misaki's sex and probably wouldn't agree to letting his brother live such a scandalous life. Not only that, but he'd have to explain that he too was okay with staying married to a male, and that could have disastrous results if the citizens found out. Still, he wasn't about to back down, so he re-entered the room with a look of determination. Before either Nowaki or Takahiro could get a word in, he raised his hand to silence them.

"Takahiro, I already know you're going to tell me that Misaki had died, but I know it's just a poison that grants the illusion of death."

The king seemed completely shocked that such a thing came out of his friend's mouth, and was completely lost as to what to do.

"Don't worry, I'm not the least bit angry." His gaze turned to Nowaki then, and he had to be removed. "Medic, wait outside please." He didn't know how much Nowaki knew, so for now he'd have to be absent. Naturally he left without question. Akihiko turned his attention back to Takahiro. "I learned of your plans months ago Takahiro, I know about Misaki, I'm not going to make an issue of it."

"Wait, you mean…?"

"I discovered Misaki was a man, yes, but I had already fallen in love completely. I also think that Misaki's influence will be good for our relations as nations." He said decisively. "I think it would be best to let Misaki stay here, as a figurehead and the symbol of our unity."

Takahiro stood, completely dumbfounded by what he was hearing. "But- I don't know, that seemed a little- well-" He couldn't think of a word to describe such a proposition. "Aside from that, how are you going to produce an heir?"

"It's fine, Haruhiko agreed to let his child take the throne, so I'll leave that to him."

"Wait, you're okay with that?"

"I suggested it to him." Usagi said bluntly.

"I don't know, I mean, is Misaki okay with this?"

"I can assure you that he's fine with it. We talked it over, and I believe that if his presence was absent from my country, the tensions would only rise again."

Takahiro wasn't prepared for this, he had no idea how to respond. "Do you mind if I talk it over with Misaki when he wakes?"

"By all means."

"Well, even if I find this highly unconventional, I will allow you to continue down this route should my brother give his blessing."

Usagi smiled, unable to put his gratitude into words. "I am glad. Thank you."

Their discussions lasted most of the night, as they ironed out the details of the union. Misaki woke late, and was floored to know that everyone was now in on the plan. Reluctantly, he agreed to stay with Usagi, using their new alliance as his excuse, and Takahiro reluctantly gave in. The rest of their night was spent going over fail safe plans, and while nothing was set in stone just yet, it was declared that their union would sustain.


	33. And the Beat Goes On

A/N: Thank you so much for the review Snakehands! I actually wrote the other ending about the same time I wrote chapter 4. It was completely experimental, I didn't know what people would think. Since your review is the only one that appeared, I can only assume it wasn't a hit haha. Anyway, here's a happy end, I hope it was better than the last one. By the way, it's totally okay to tell me the last ending, or any part of the story, wasn't very good. It's all good! Have a nice day!

* * *

Takahiro had left earlier, though he did wish the couple all the best in their bizarre situation and claimed he'd be around if he was needed for any reason. The train Misaki had brought with him also elected to stay, well at least most of them. Kamijou had elected to stay almost immediately, and Miyagi also agreed to stay, though reluctantly. Shinobu had been released after some complicated negotiations with Takahiro. It all seemed like the loose ends were tied up, at least in Usagi's mind.

Usagi, despite hardly sleeping, was up bright and early, ready to call his citizens to a meeting. Misaki slept through most of the summoning process, but was gently nudged awake by his husband when it was time for them to appear.

"What's going on?" A sleepy Misaki said as he hauled himself out of bed and began getting dressed.

"We're just going to make the announcement that you survived the arrow and that you're going to continue being the queen." He said bluntly, but with a smile.

"Oh, how long do these addresses usually last?" Still feeling a little light headed from the poison, he wasn't sure if he should be standing for any length of time. Nowaki had cleared him however, and claimed that he should be fine now.

"Not long, I'll just say that you're alive, then I'll have to give a long winded speech about the nature of our relationship, then we can leave. It shouldn't take too long."

"Well, I'll trust you." Misaki was still getting used to the idea of being with this man for the rest of his life. Appearing before the masses would finally affirm this, and he was so completely nervous that he could only trust his husband to carry him through this.

Usagi outstretched his hand. "Alright, let's do this together."

Misaki took that hand, and they made their way out to a balcony at the front of the castle. He looked down, noting all of the spectators in the audience. There was a dead silence, until Usagi's voice cut through it, "the queen lives!" He said simply, holding up Misaki's arm. The crowds cheered, and once they died down, he began speaking. Misaki stayed silent, partially because he had nothing to say, partially because he was in awe of how eloquent his husband's speech was.

The crowds cheered and applauded when necessary, and then after about only ten minutes, Usagi dismissed everyone, concluding that his announcements were over. Then, to bring this spectacle to a close, he seized Misaki and pulled him into a deep kiss. The queen was too caught off guard by this sudden action that he couldn't complain, but his cheeks began to burn from the embarrassment he felt. Sure he was supposed to be the queen, but there was no need of making their affections public. After the deep kiss, he took Misaki's hand and they went back inside the castle.

"Hey." Misaki said, looking slightly angry, but also somewhat flattered.

"Hm?"

"How about next time you tone down the affections? You think I like being kissed in public like that?!"

"You're my wife, the queen, I don't think what I did was out of line."

Misaki deflated then, knowing that he was right again. Still, he wasn't pleased. "Well, you know, maybe tone it down a little. It's embarrassing…"

"Yeah yeah, I've heard your stance on public displays of affection. I'll try to tone it down, but I can't deny my feelings."

Misaki rolled his eyes. Still, he wasn't actually angry enough to keep the issue going, so he let it drop for now.

"By the way Misaki, how are you feeling right now? Light headed, weak, dizzy?" He was inquiring about the symptoms of the poison. Misaki appeared to be fine, but he wanted to make sure for himself.

"I think I'm fine." The queen said in a hushed voice, feeling a little self-conscious. "I felt a little dizzy this morning, but I think it went away now."

Usagi raised an eyebrow, and his sly grin returned. Without warning, he scooped up his wife and began walking at a brisk pace toward their bedroom.

"Wha, What are you doing?" A startled Misaki protested.

"This is our honeymoon. You know what couples do on their honeymoon right?" He said with a sly, sleazy grin.

"Why you!" He said, though made no move to escape. He knew there'd be a lot of this when he opted to remain the queen, yet he still found it endlessly infuriating, on the surface anyway. "Can't you at least wait until we have breakfast?!"

"No, you realise that I've been longing for you, ever since you taken down to the waiting room. The thought of losing you made me crazy. I need to affirm that you're really here, with me."

"You can tell that now! I'm right here, you can feel me!" He protested.

"Hmm, we'll see about that." Usagi said in his usual sleazy voice.

Despite everything, he was glad that he could stay married to this man, no matter how one tracked his mind was. He'd never admit that though.

Before they could make it to their room, they were stopped by Aikawa, who appeared somewhat bewildered at this turn of events. "So I heard that you're keeping your marriage."

Usagi rolled his eyes, not wanting to deal with the politics for a while. "I've got it all planned out, and I'll tell you in, say, an hour or so."

Her temper flared then, as she didn't want such important information being withheld from her by the single-minded king. "You're going to keep something so important from me?! You tell me right now what's going on!"

"Sorry, It'll have to wait." He said, dodging her and breaking into a sprint. Nothing was going to stop him from getting what he wanted right now.

"Get back here! Stop shirking your responsibilities!"

Misaki sighed, but resigned himself to what would ultimately become his new normal.


End file.
